


bombarda

by wildflower (bangtrashsyd)



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Jonghyun being stressed, M/M, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, but there are hints to the r/s from years 1 to 4, for the actual 2hyun skip to year five, if you mind those, no sexy times, no sexy times bc everyone in Hogwarts are minors, severe angst, the presence of Draco Malfoy, the resurgence of Minhyun's Veela complex, there are kiss scenes though, there is like one dirty joke at the end, wow look i took a year to write the next chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-01-20 20:03:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12440598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangtrashsyd/pseuds/wildflower
Summary: They say a Slytherin working with a Hufflepuff can bring the world down smiling.They haven't seen a Gryffindor, two Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin family yet.





	1. aparecium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aparecium - a spell to make invisible ink appear

**FIRST YEAR - MINHYUN**

Minhyun's first impression of Jonghyun is, admittedly, not much. 

Every year, a total of around fifty students are admitted to Hogwarts. Of course, the number varies from year to year, but one simply cannot expect an eleven year old to know everyone in his cohort by the time they get to the Great Hall for the first time.

"Hwang Minhyun?" One of the Weasely twins clap him on the shoulder, hard, and he nearly bowls over. Straightening his posture, he glares at them and scowls. "Oops, sorry there. Mum told us to keep an eye out for you-"

"I'm fine." He insists, and the twins look at each other, raising their eyebrows. 

"Leave him alone." The boy next to him says strongly. Minhyun turns a look of incredulity to the smaller boy, who smiles at him wanly before getting onto one of the boats.

"If the young master says so." The other nods, then departs after thoroughly messing up his hair. Minhyun scowls even further.

"Stop that. You'll get frown lines." He turns to see Choi Minki come to a stop behind him, murmuring under his breath as the group is instructed to board the boats by what looks like a half-giant. "You're ugly enough."

Minhyun spares his old friend a scoff and a slap upside the head, settling easily into the wooden boat. 

"Shut up, you snake." He says, making sure there is no heat behind the words. Minki hisses playfully at him and narrows his eyes to slits. 

 

Professor McGonagall gives them the standard briefing, and Draco Malfoy royally screws over his one chance with the one and only Harry Potter. The two boys watch in amusement as the Boy Who Lived turns away from their mutual friend.

"He is so..." Minhyun struggles to place the word. 

"Stupid?" Kang Dongho asks, and Minki shuffles over to make space for him. Minhyun nods appreciatively.

"That too." He agrees. "Hey, Baekho."

"Hello." Dongho grins mischievously. "Can't wait to get started." He mutters quietly to them as they walk into the Hall. The Hat makes a funny little song that Minhyun keeps in the back of his mind for future references. Professor McGonagall begins the name roll quickly, and Minki is the first to go up amongst those he knows.

"Choi-Fawley, Minki." 

Minki strolls up to the seat and the Hat descends on his head. Within a minute, he is quickly sorted to Slytherin with a smattering of applause. Nonetheless, he holds his head high and flounces off to the end of the table.

Dongho is next, and he is sorted to Gryffindor. The House welcomes him, roaring with applause and approval. Minhyun's lip curls up as Dongho flinches when the Twins clap him on the back.

He's called up soon, and he settles uncomfortably into the hard wooden stool, jumping when the voice starts to speak in his head.

_Interesting, a halfie._

Minhyun grits his teeth at the barb. He made it here without anyone knowing about his problem, he didn't need a Hat revealing his secrets.

_Relax, I cannot reveal anything of this meeting to any one. Where to put you, Grey wizard?_

He notes the slip, filing it away to the back of his head. His affinity to the more neutral magic had always existed, although it was now laid out clearly in front of him. 

_Slytherin or Ravenclaw would do you good. Which one is it?_

Not Slytherin, he was a half blood. Judging by Millicent Bullstrode's less than welcome entrance into the Slytherin House, he would be no less eagerly welcomed. Ravenclaw would be a better option.

_So mote it be._

"Ravenclaw!" The Hat roars, and he thanks the Professor quietly before making his way to the table. Catching Minki's eye, he drops a quick wink and the other shrugs back. Dongho is already making friends with his fellow lions, chatting with Finnigan and Granger. 

"I'm Terry Boot." The boy opposite offers with an easy enough smile, and Minhyun nods back. 

"Hwang Minhyun." He holds out his hand politely. He's not here to make friends, although some would be nice. He makes some small talk with Boot and Corner, and except for a odd encounter with Cho Chang (who insisted on him joining the Hogwarts Asians Club. Please.) nothing else happened. 

The sudden hush spreads throughout the Hall, and Minhyun halts his conversation to figure out why.

"What happened?" He whispers over to Clearwater, who bites her tongue in intrigue. 

"A Hatstall." She observes, and he turns his gaze onto the boy sitting on the stool quietly. It's the same boy who defended him from the Twins, and tendrils of curiosity swirl up in him.

The boy, later identified as Kim Jonghyun, keeps them in suspense for nearly twenty minutes. Minhyun catches a glimpse of him murmuring something under his breath before the Hat announces: "Hufflepuff!"

Clearwater deflates like a balloon and turns back to her plate with a sigh.

"What a shame." She tells her friend.

"Why is it a shame?" He asks, and she rolls her eyes.

"He's a Hufflepuff. Nothing spectacular comes out of Hufflepuff." She ends the conversation firmly. Minhyun looks at Jonghyun, and he sees the boy sit down with a gentle, unassuming smile.

He begs to differ. Jonghyun is interesting, a mystery, a puzzle to solve. When he turns to look at Minki, he finds his friend's gaze fixated on the boy as well.

 

Classes are alright, he supposes. His favourite class is Charms, and his wand sings whenever he performs one. Dongho catches him in a headlock as they head to the fields for lunch, and they pick up Minki along the way. The three of them head to an empty spot beside a large willow tree. Minki snaps his fingers and thanks the house elf for the food as they settle back onto the soft grass, tilting their heads back to enjoy the sunlight. 

"Kim Jonghyun." Minki brings up the boy first. "What did you all think of him?"

"Found out that he's an orphan, brought up by muggles." Dongho mulls over his apple, crunching into it and chewing noisily. Minhyun leans over to close his jaw for him. "Could be a pure blood, or a half blood, or anything, really."

"What did  _you_ think, Minki?" He asks.

"I had Defense with him this morning." The boy pulls back his black hair, waving the fringe off his face. Dongho seems preoccupied with his hair, leaning in close before bursting out into laughter. "We were with Quirrel, and the man is- What? What is it?"

"You have gel in your hair!" Dongho points, giggling. Minhyun struggles to keep the foolish grin off his face.

"Really, Minki-ah?" He rolls his eyes. Minki flushes to his ears.

"Draco has gel in his hair too, are you copying him?" A girl stands over them, blocking out the sunlight. Minki straightens immediately at the sight of her green scarf, tossing an unreadable look to them.

"No thanks, I have no wish for a helmet for a head." He quips. The girl smiles and offers a hand.

"Daphne Greengrass." She introduces. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Minki nods, waving a hand to them. "Kang-Sewlyn Dongho, and Hwang-Shacklebolt Minhyun."

"Sewlyn?" The girl gasps in astonishment. "What a surprise. I thought the line had died out a long time ago."

"Evidently not." Dongho beams at her and waves. "Took the blood test at Gringotts. My mother was the daughter of a Squib."

"Interesting." She notes. "Pureblood?"

"Does it matter?" Minhyun cuts in, eyes hardening. 

"It shouldn't." She looks at him, staring into his eyes. He relaxes, and she nods after a pause. "Minki, partner me in Potions. We have the period with the Gryffindors later." She concludes before moving off. Minki lets out a sigh of relief.

"Back to Jonghyun." He starts, and Dongho holds up a hand to call over to someone. The one mentioned trots over, a sandwich in his hand. "Oh, hello."

"Hi." The boy smiles at them, innocence in his eyes.

"Do you want to sit down?" Minhyun shoves Dongho lightly, and the other huffs before shifting over.

"Thanks." Jonghyun mumbles. "Minhyun, right?"

"Yes." He says, surprised. "You know me?"

"Everyone does. You're going to be good friends with Hermione." He smiles. "I think."

"I'm Minki, this is Dongho." Minki cuts in. 

"Do you play Quidditch?"  Dongho's question bursts out of him, and Jonghyun looks startled.

"I haven't tried." He mutters. Dongho gasps and clutches his heart.

"That's impossible. We need to get you a broom-"

"Why does everyone like flying on  _brooms_ that much?" Minki rolls his eyes. Minhyun hides a smile, remembering the first time Minki tried to fly. He barely rose two feet on the toy broom before the thing dumped him off like a bucking horse. 

"I'd like that." Jonghyun interrupts, looking at Dongho shyly. "I want to try."

 

Minhyun sits out of the flight with Minki, and Dongho brings Jonghyun on a series of loops and twirls. Dongho's a Quidditch prodigy, a natural. Minhyun thinks he might become a Beater at some point.

"Dongho, don't kill him, please." He warns before the flight, just for the look of terror that crosses Jonghyun's face. Dongho smiles rougishly.

"I make no promises." He intones, kicking off with Jonghyun's skinny arms tight around him.

 

Jonghyun loves flying.

 

Minhyun doesn't.

 

"I'm not an orphan." Jonghyun shares with them later, after three months of lessons and lunches together.

"You're-"

"Muggleborn." Jonghyun nods, biting his lip in worry. 

"Have you done an Inheritance Test?" Minki checks, and Jonghyun nods. He shrugs and goes back to flipping through his letters from home. "Okay then. What time is Astronomy tonight?"

"Ten." Dongho says absently, scribbling the last line of his overdue Potions essay. "Jesus, I think Snape is crazy."

Minhyun looks up from his poetry book to see Jonghyun blinking tearfully into his book. He catches his arm and tilts his face up.

"What's wrong?" He asks softly. Jonghyun grins, bright and wide.

"I thought you wouldn't want to associate with me anymore." He's starting to mumble again, and Minki frowns. He leans forward and forces him to sit up straight, pushing between his shoulder blades.

"Don't be ridiculous." He professes, letting go when Jonghyun yelps. "I'm too clingy, you can't get rid of me that easily."

 

The fiasco with Harry Potter and the House points makes Minki fume with the loss of the House Cup.

"It's alright, Minki." Minhyun says as they take the train back to King Cross Station. "It's just a Cup."

"Shut up, if Harry Potter wants to go on adventures, it's his problem! Why does he get points?" Minki grumbles. "Could have been our House Cup. Stop smirking, Dongho."

**SECOND YEAR - DONGHO**

Dongho collects his things from the crowded bookstore, spotting a familiar side profile and ordering another set immediately.

"Jonghyun!" He calls, and the other turns. The immaculately dressed girl next to him pauses immediately, turning to face him as he walks towards them. Jonghyun has a chocolate ice cream in one hand, and he smiles at him before offering the remainder. Dongho takes the cone and shifts his bag. "Hey, how have you been?"

"Good." Jonghyun beams. "Where's Minhyun?"

"What, are Minki and I not good enough for you?" He teases, and Jonghyun's face drops. He begins to wave his hands around in defence. 

"No! I just thought he was always with you-"

"Chill, it's a joke." Dongho tosses the last of the cone into his mouth and brushes off his hands. "Is this your sister?"

"Yes." Jonghyun reaches behind to take their hands. "Sister, this is Dongho."

"Hello there, thanks for taking care of our brother." The girl chirps. Dongho feels slightly out of his element because she's so  _pretty._ He's only shaken out of his thoughts when Jonghyun stamps on his foot, hard.

"That's my older sister." He reminds, and Dongho remembers his manners.

"Of course, nice to meet you, miss." He bows and kisses the air above her hand like in the normal Pureblood tradition. "Pleased to meet you. I am Kang Dongho, descendant of the Sewlyn line."

"That must be nice." She says blandly, and Jonghyun's lip twist.

"She's a Muggle." He says quietly, and Dongho nods in understanding.

"Have you collected your books yet?" He asks, and Jonghyun shakes his head.

"There's so many people-" Dongho dumps the second order of books into his cauldron. 

"Got us second hand books to save money, this guy's just a pretty fraud." He complains, taking Jonghyun's hand and dragging them to the Quidditch store. "Come on, let's look at brooms. I want a Firebolt."

"Don't be ridiculous, wherever are you going to get the Galleons to buy one?" Minki says haughtily, smacking Dongho's forehead with his fingers. "Hi Jonghyun, is this your sister?"

Jonghyun stares in amusement as Minki kisses the back of his sister's palm, and Dongho nudges his side.

"It's common practice." He whispers, and Jonghyun's sister looks charmed by Minki. 

"Are you wearing eyeliner?" She asks in disbelief. 

"Yes." Minki says firmly. "Now let's go, peasants. I might buy a broom for my sister."

Dongho covers his smile with his right hand and takes up Jonghyun's hand again. It feels warm.

 

They meet Minhyun at the familiars store, and he's fawning over a brown owl.

"Look, he's beautiful." He tugs at their hands once they enter, making them look at the owl as well. "Minki, buy him for me."

Dongho sighs as Minhyun nicks Minki's pouch, counting out the ten Galleons before paying for it. He catches Jonghyun staring at the comfortable exchange for a little too long.

"You really have to stop using Minki as a human wallet." He remarks, and Minhyun refuses to spare him a glance, already starting to feed the owl treats. Jonghyun is tucked somewhere at the back of the shop, looking at a grey ball of fur tucked behind a glass window. He walks over, steering Minhyun with him. Minki darts to look at one of the Kneazles.

"What's that, Jonghyun-ah?" He asks, and Jonghyun turns, bringing a finger to his lips to ask them to be quiet. He calls for the shopkeeper.

"Can I hold her?" He asks. The shopkeeper shrugs.

"'he's been abused, she has. Might scratch 'ya." 

"I want to hold her." Jonghyun repeats, and the shopkeeper waves his wand to dissolve the glass window. Jonghyun steps closer, carefully, and strokes the back of the kitten's ears. The kitten unfurls, looking at Jonghyun with wary blue eyes. Jonghyun strokes down her back and she purrs, scampering onto his hand and rubbing her whiskers against his palm.

"Well, I'll be damned." The shopkeeper observes. "Take 'er, kid. 'he's hard to sell, so I'll give 'er to 'ya for free."

"Really?" Jonghyun brightens like a flower in bloom and the shopkeeper waves his hand. "Thank you!"

The kitten climbs his hoodie and settles in the back of the hood, purring. Dongho thinks he sees it's eyes glint with intelligence before it goes back to sleep.

 

"I heard they flew a car to Hogwarts. It got destroyed by the Whomping Willow." Lavender hisses, buttering her bun. Hermione rolls her eyes.

"Cars don't fly, Brown." She says in exasperation.

"I wouldn't know." Lavender shrugs. "With all that Mr Weasley has been  doing with the Muggle artifacts..."

"A car is _not_ an artifact." Hermione throws her hands up in disbelief. "Dongho, back me up."

"A car is not an artifact." He repeats after her, and he makes eye contact with Jonghyun at the next table. The boy looks like he's trying not to laugh. Dongho's lips twist threateningly.

"If you say so." Lavender muses, biting into her bun. "Where  _are_ they?"

 

"Ron broke his  _wand."_ Hermione bangs her head down on the table the next morning.

"Maybe a  _Reparo_ will fix it." Dongho says optimistically.  Minhyun snorts at the idea of it, standing over and behind him, elbows on his shoulders as they read the latest letter from the Kangs. 

"Don't be ridiculous, I already tried." She moans. "Why do I hang about such idiots?"

"Did they really fly the car to school?" He asks, cheeks flushed with laughing too hard. Minki is nowhere to be seen, as part of some Slytherin ritual on the first day of classes. "I thought you said cars don't fly."

"Shut up." Hermione says crossly, and Jonghyun high fives him as she storms out.

 

Dumbledore calls him to the Headmaster's Office, introducing him to a boy called Aaron. Dongho struggles to pronounce his American name repeatedly until the boy sighs.

"It's okay, you can call me Aron." He nods. Dongho blushes and hopes he doesn't look stupid. Dumbledore informs him that Aron is a transfer student from the Horned Serpent House at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He's been supported into  _Hufflepuff,_ instead of the Ravenclaw Dongho was expecting.

"I have a good friend in Hufflepuff. How old are you?" Dongho asks as they go down the stairs. "Careful, that step is slippery."

"Thanks." Aron holds on to the banister as he jumps. "I'm fourteen, but I'll be in the Third Year. One year above you, right?"

"Yeah, I'm a second year." Dongho tugs his elbow in the direction of the Great Hall for dinner. "But why third year? You should be in fourth."

"Something about the levels of study in America and Britain being different." Aron sighs. "I don't know, man. It kind of sucks."

"Here we are at the Great Hall." Dongho glances over and pats his arm. "Don't worry, if you do well, I think Professor Sprout can recommend you for a few Advanced Classes."

Aron stares at the ceiling, too preoccupied by the lights to answer.

"It's beautiful." He whispers. "What an extraordinary bout of spellwork. Is there a way I can learn this?"

"How the hell did you end up in Hufflepuff?" Dongho shakes his head in disbelief. "I'll bring you to the library after dinner. Now come here, you have to meet your housemates."

"Ah, right." Aron gives the ceiling a last glance and follows him to the Hufflepuff table. Dongho finds Jonghyun in the middle of the table, giggling at something a Fourth Year is saying. The senior looks enraptured by Jonghyun's smile, and Dongho shoves him from behind. Jonghyun whips his head around to look for the attacker, growling when he sees Dongho.

"Jerk." He complains, rubbing his back. "Oh, hello! Who are you?"

"I'm Aron." Aron uses the name Dongho came up with, and he smiles inwardly. The entire table stops talking and looks at them, and he shifts uncomfortably. "I'm a transfer student from Ilvermorny, third year."

"Are you a Hufflepuff?" Cedric asks, and Aron scratches the back of his head. 

"Yes." He says uneasily. "Why?"

"Where's your scarf?" Cedric questions, eyebrows furrowed.

"I didn't realise... I had to get one." Aron's sentence ends in a mumble. Susan shifts in her seat, and Dongho shifts his stance, eyeing Jonghyun nervously. Jonghyun just looks  _amused._

"Of course you have to get one, you're one of us." She insists, pulling her own from her neck. "Here, take mine. So we know you're one of our own."

"I, what?" Aron takes the scarf and mutters a quick _Gemino_ under his breath, wrapping the duplicate around his neck and handing the original one back. "Did you guys just try to haze me?"

"I have no idea what that means, but now you're properly attired, you can sit down." Cedric waves a hand, and everyone shifts one seat to their left to clear a space next to Jonghyun. "That spell was an advanced one, and a Dark one at that. How old are you?"

"Fourteen." Aron repeats, and the table goes back to whatever they were doing. Jonghyun smiles at Dongho reassuringly, like he didn't just watch some sort of Hufflepuff ferocity. "I'm a third year because the Headmaster said something about a difference between American and British teaching."

Dongho stands in place awkwardly as a wave of dissent spreads among the Hufflepuffs. This garners nearly the entire Hall's attention, broken only when Fred Weasely flings a goblet of pumpkin juice at his twin.

"I'll, um, see you after dinner." Dongho breaks the growing conversation. "Jonghyun, can you bring him to the library?"

"Yeah, sure." Jonghyun nods. "Can I bring Minhyun? We were going to meet to practice Charms."

"Sure, bring your boyfriend." Dongho quips, and Jonghyun rolls his eyes, flinging an apple at him. 

"Stop it!" He protests, and Dongho smirks, catching the apple and waving goodbye to Aron. "Get out of here!"

 

Minki and Minhyun like Aron, which is a surprise. He thought Minki wouldn't like him because of how  _different_ (in personality) they were, but Minki just smiles and takes Aron in his stride. Minhyun starts dragging Aron through the bookshelves once he starts talking about the ceiling in the Great Hall, and Jonghyun looks visibly put out, left alone with his Charms homework. 

That's how Aron joins their little group, although Minki lights up when he hears Dongho mention the  _Gemino_ curse. 

"Another Dark wizard." He comments, and Dongho stops in his tracks. "Just like you, Baekho."

 

The Heir of Slytherin strikes fear into everyone's hearts, especially Aron's and Jonghyun's. Minki goes a few nights without sleep to interrogate who the Heir is, but comes to the conclusion that the Heir is not in his house. Dongho writes home for more information, but except for a dusty tome that speaks of the Chamber for only one line, he gets nothing.

Jonghyun and Minhyun walk together in pairs after classes, and if Jonghyun has classes with the other Houses, they take turns to walk with him. With Aron, it is more difficult, although Dongho suspects Minki of bribing Third Years to walk with him.

Hufflepuffs take care of their own, he remembers. He hopes it's enough.

 

Oddly enough, Jonghyun gets the Chaser position on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. The little bugger grins with triumph for the next two weeks, and Dongho sours at it.

He was the one to show him, and he hadn't even made it on the team yet.

 

By the end of the year, Aron is promoted to Year Five instead of Year Four because of his exceptional marks.

"Oppression builds ambition." Aron preaches, lying against the grass with his head in Jonghyun's lap. "Everyone should stop assuming Hufflepuff is weak."

Jonghyun exchanges an unreadable look with Minki.

"Thank God you're not in the same year as us." Minki comments off-handedly. "We have enough fighting over the top marks between Draco, Granger and Minhyun already."

"Oi!" Minhyun protests, and Aron pats his forehead. 

"Don't worry, you're my favourite." He coos, and Minki's smile slides off his face. Aron gets to his feet at the new expression on his face.

"What about me?" Minki demands, scrambling to his feet after Aron who begins to retreat slowly. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where are you going?"

Later, if anyone talks about Aron, the top scorer of all time in History of Magic, cowering away from the mysterious, beautiful Choi Minki, Dongho will burst into giggles.

Really, the both of them are softies.

  **THIRD YEAR - MINKI**

There are Dementors on the train.

Minki knows this, from the cold feeling in his chest, strikingly reminiscent to the time he visited his grandfather (or what was left of him) in Azkaban.

"Dementors." He warns them, sitting forward in his seat and pushing Aron and Dongho to sit further away from the corridor. Minhyun sets his jaw, drawing the curtains across the windows, and Jonghyun holds on to Minki's hand. "Hyun, you know the charm?"

"Yes." Jonghyun and Minhyun say in unison.

"Good, it'll help even if it's not corporal." Frost spreads across the window, and he tightens his grip on his wand. His chest seizes up, and fear bleeds into his veins. He thinks he hears a scream in the distance, and Jonghyun kicks his shin hard to make him snap out of it. He raises his wand and tries to recall the last time his mother hugged him, right before he left home.

"Expecto Patronum!" A grey wisp emerges from the tip of his wand and condenses on the floor, seeping below the door. Jonghyun's mist follows, and the dark form right outside the door flees. "Ugh."

"Minhyun?" Dongho asks fearfully, and he turns to see Minhyun faint in his seat, his wand falling to the floor. Minki grabs onto the back of his robes to keep him from following. "Did he just faint?"

"Chocolate frog, quick!" Aron shoves Dongho to the pile of sweets on the seats. Dongho hands one over, and Aron stops the thing from jumping with a quick  _Arresto Momentum._ Aron feeds the boy, progressively turning white, with a piece and hands the remainder around. Minhyun comes to about a minute later, jumping away from their grasp.

"Minhyun." Jonghyun holds his hands out. "It's me. Jonghyun."

Minhyun looks lost, fingers scrambling for a hold on the window. Minki thinks he sees flames dancing on his fingers, but Minhyun looks at Jonghyun and relaxes.

"Jonghyun." He says under his breath.

"Yeah. You're okay, Min. They've left." Jonghyun comes closer, and Minhyun sits down heavily. "Breathe."

The door slams open and Minki curses himself for forgetting to lock it.

"Is everything alright?" The man asks, face covered in his hood. Minki gets to his feet, covering the way Minhyun and Jonghyun are sitting curled up against each other.

"Who are you?" He demands. 

"I'm Professor Lupin-"

 _"Lupin?"_ Dongho interrupts, looking around Minki at the man with interest. "They let a werewolf teach?"

"How do you-" The man stutters, and Dongho steps around Minki.

"Sirius Black was my mother's first cousin removed, he always talks about you in his diary he left behind." Dongho shrugs. "It was how I knew I had magic, because it didn't set me on fire."

"You went through Padfoot's things?" Professor Lupin asks faintly, and Dongho shrugs.

"Finder's keepers." He says. "We're fine, Professor. You can go now."

The professor backs out of their compartment uneasily, and Minki locks the door after him.

"A werewolf?" He asks Dongho, but ignores it in favour of tending to Minhyun. "Min, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Minhyun says, hand tucked into Jonghyun's. "I'm fine."

Minki doesn't believe him, but he lets it pass.

 

They have DADA with the Hufflepuffs on the first day, and Professor Lupin brings out a  _boggart._ Minki pales when Hannah Abbott identifies the creature in the cupboard, and keeps an eye out for Jonghyun. Professor Lupin instructs them to line up, a Slytherin followed by a Hufflepuff. Jonghyun ends up behind him, and Minki tries to smile reassuringly. Draco's boggart is his father, frowning down at him with anger in his eyes. Susan's is a werewolf, and Professor Lupin flinches at the sight of it. Minki winces in sympathy at the endless list of horrors, and then suddenly it's his turn.

The boggart turns away from him and shimmers in the air before splitting into five. Blood coats the faces and bodies of the five people, dressed in grey, on the floor. It's-

Minki screams, and his voice comes out reedy and thin. Jonghyun is shoving him away in the next moment, and he falls to the floor in shock. Even so, his eyes remain fixed on the terrifying sight before him, and even as Jonghyun begins to shriek: "Change! It's me! It's not him anymore!", his lungs refuse to work properly. Professor Lupin steps out of his stunned stupor once it becomes clear that Jonghyun cannot say the charm.

"I don't understand. Why didn't it change?" Jonghyun whispers, but Minki's ears pick it up as his breathing becomes more shallow. 

"It would seem, Mr Kim, that your fear and Mr Choi's is the same." Professor Lupin banishes the boggart and kneels next to his head. His eyes are a warm brown. "Minki? Are you alright?"

He faints promptly.

 

_"What happened?"_

Minki opens his eyes to the sound of Aron's enraged growl, and Madam Pomphrey bustles over immediately. 

"Excuse me, Madam." Aron blocks her with a hand and stares down at Minki's face. "Ren, are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Minki is holding on to someone, and he turns his head to look. Dongho is asleep in the chair, cheek resting against the mattress. "Jong-"

"I'm here." Jonghyun pats his foot. "Aron-hyung, let Madam Pomphrey do her work."

"Indeed." The mediwitch insists, and Aron apologizes before stepping aside. She gives him a Pepper Up potion for the shock and some other replenishing potions before allowing him to hobble out of the Hospital Wing with his friends.

 

They don't talk about it.

 

Jonghyun does, but Minki shuts down whenever someone brings it up.

 

When Sirius Black invades Hogwarts, they push their mattresses together in the Great Hall. Minki refuses to sleep the entire night, lying awake with his eyes wide open and flat on his back.

"You need to sleep, Ren." Dongho insists quietly as the footsteps of the Prefects fade. 

"I can't." He mumbles back, unsure in the darkness if his eyes are already shut with exhaustion. "I have to protect you."

"Who's going to protect  _you?"_ Dongho asks, fingers touching his shoulder. "I'll stay awake with you."

In the morning, his bedraggled attire and eye bags are met with a raised eye brow. He glares back, hard. It's worth it when he sees Jonghyun laughing with Minhyun as they practice a Tickling Charm on Aron, the three of them unmarked and clean.

It eases him, somewhat.

 

They shouldn't have snuck out to the pitch for a midnight flight.

"Expect Patronum!" Jonghyun is trying, face beaded with sweat. Minki's hands are shaking.  _Think of a happy memory. Quick. Before they are all dead._

The memory sneaks into his mind suddenly, and he draws a breath.

_Dongho is giggling against the snow, half buried by the onslaught of snow balls from Aron and Jonghyun. The both of them are performing some charms, goaded by Minhyun who lies incapacitated in the grass. Minki reads his book calmly, their bags hovering around him to prevent them from getting wet. That's until the snowball hits him square in the face, and the noise fades._

_"I said no touching me." Minki says dangerously, tossing the book to the snow. "You're all going to get it."_

Minki holds on tight to the memory, and he exhales.

 _"Expecto Patronum!"_ He chants, and the rabbit bursts from the tip of his wand. Jonghyun finally gets it, and a turtle follows the rabbit, streaking across the sky.

A white tiger emerges from Dongho's, a dog from Aron's and Minki turns to Minhyun, who meet his eyes in utter fear. 

"You can do it!" He encourages, heady from his first Patronus. Minhyun sets his jaw and closes his eyes. A fox runs to join the four animals, frolicking against the moon. The Dementors scatter, and Minki's rabbit returns to him, nudging against his hand. A burst of warmth in his chest brings a smile to his face.

It feels like home.

 

Slytherin does not win the Quidditch Cup. 

Minki watches sourly as Dongho stands to his feet to cheer as Harry Potter brings the snitch to the pitch, nearly launching himself off the side in excitement.

"It's not proper." He rolls his eyes, and Dongho smacks him on the back, hard. Minki grits his teeth and steps away from the cheering bunch of red that floods the arena.

 

"Trelawney said that the Dark Lord is returning." Dongho tells them at their usual lunch spot. Aron straightens immediately.

"Divination isn't the most reliable source, is it?" He asks, uncertain.

"There is truth in magic." Dongho says grimly. "All kinds."

 **FOURTH YEAR -** **ARON**

"I am not coming home." Aron writes the letters onto paper with a good old muggle blue pen. Jonghyun has his arms around him, tears soaking into his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have to do this." He protests.

"I will. They're safer without me." Aron says grimly, sealing a Obliviate charm into the envelope. "Where's Box?"

"Here." Minhyun snaps his fingers, and the brown owl lands on his shoulder. "Are you sure, hyung?"

"It's a long haul flight. Can he handle it?" Aron deflects and the owl hoots in his face, ruffling his feathers. "Just checking, Box. Please take this to my parents."

"Good owl." Mr Fawley comments as the owl takes the letter and flies out of the window. "A difficult choice, kid. You're very brave."

Aron looks at the ground. There are tears building at the back of his eyeballs.

"Thank you sir."

 

The Choi-Fawleys have brought them to watch the Quidditch Cup. Mr Fawley tells them about the Triwizard Tournament. Minki's cousin, Kwon Hyunbin from Beauxbatons Academy, is set to enter Hogwarts. 

"My cousin Daniel is coming too, from Drumstrang. His boyfriend Seongwoo is coming as part of the Drumstrang entourage as well." Dongho says over dinner. "Minhyun, anything from your magical side?"

Aron sees Minhyun's lips curl at one corner bitterly.

"I know someone coming from Beauxbatons. Park Jihoon." He mentions. "And someone from Drumstrang, Park Woojin. Might meet them."

"Ilvermorny isn't participating?" Jonghyun asks Aron.

"They don't condone the idea of sending children to battle." Aron says softly. Mr Fawley exchanges a look with Mrs Choi.

"Sweetheart, there will be war." She breaks it to him gently.

"I know." He glances up, at the group of brothers around him. "But you don't need to fight to death."

Minki's mother smiles slowly.

"I think I understand." 

 

"You are against Voldemort, but you don't want to join Dumbledore." Jonghyun realises in the middle of a movie. Aron sits up against Minki's chest. 

"Are you with me?" He asks.

"Of course I am, what kind of question is that?" Jonghyun goes back to watching the television, curled up in Minhyun's lap. Aron has always suspected the both of them to be in a  _thing_ but Minki always rolls his eyes at him when he brings it up.

"They're not ready." He always says.

"What about you guys?" He asks the room at large, and they glance over.

"Sure." Minki says languidly. "Are you the leader, though?"

"Hell no." Aron snaps. "I'm so Dark it'll probably get to my head. That's why I need you guys."

"Jonghyun then." Minki nudges the boy. "He's a Light Wizard."

"I don't think magical affinities mean anything." Jonghyun says quietly. Dongho laughs.

"Of course it does." He rebuts. "Especially when one of us becomes more powerful. People follow the Light wizards, Jong."

"That shouldn't be." Jonghyun says quietly. Everyone looks around at each other, the movie forgotten.

"I think Jonghyun would be good." He says, heart in his mouth. Jonghyun sits up, and Minhyun opens his mouth.

"I trust Jonghyun." He murmurs, and it's decided.

 

The Dark Mark hovers over the entire campsite, and as the five of them stand still in the chaos, Minki takes his hand.

"You see?" He tells them. "This is why we have to help."

Minki has tears in his eyes at the sight of the Mark, his Light magic recoiling away from the sign. Even though Aron is a Dark wizard, he can't help but turn away from the awful sight, a freak of nature. Dark Magic isn't supposed to be  _unnatural,_ it's supposed to be moon compared to sun, night compared to day, water compared to fire. Not this, not a childish sign hanging in the sky for all to gawk and gag at. 

If this Voldemort is as Dark as they say, he certainly isn't helping with the prejudice against Dark wizards. 

Mr Fawley and Mrs Choi hurry out of the tent, the Portkey in their hands. Minki darts forward towards them, safe under the Disillusionment Charm. 

"We need to go." Mrs Choi snaps, hair in an odd disarray. She looks over Minki, and Aron sees something in her expression that reminds him of the last time he saw his mother. She flings herself in front of Minki, shielding her son from the Slicing Hex that comes their way. Mr Fawley is shot with what looks like a  _Stupefy_ in the exact same moment, and Aron sees  _red._

He whips around to look for the attacker, spotting the smiling man jumping on his two feet.

 _"Dolohov."_ He snarls, and with a surge of anger, he reaches out his hand and  _tosses_ the man against a tree. Hard. It shouldn't be possible, and the magic takes the breath out of him as he watches Dolohov slump to the mud.

"Hyung!" Jonghyun shouts sharply, and Aron turns to meet his eyes. "We are leaving, hold on!"

Aron clutches the Portkey in the nick of time, and the seven of them land on the heavy carpeting of the Fawley Mansion. A house elf springs forward from the shadows, letting out a shriek when she sees Mrs Choi bleeding out onto the carpets.

"Mistress!" The house elf garbles, beginning to weave her elf magic to stop the bleeding. Aron can't see  _where_ she's injured, but he knows that she is losing blood, and quickly. Minki looks terrified, shaking his father awake on the floor. 

"Knobby! Hilt! Gill!" Jonghyun calls, and the house elves appear. "Help your mistress!"

The elves work together in silence, and Dongho cleans away the blood so they can see better with a quick  _Evanesco._ Aron sucks in a breath when he sees the damage: a long gash across Minki's mother's chest. Minki makes a soft gagging sound, and Minhyun looks away. 

Mr Fawley regains his sense, sitting up and making a low keening sound in his throat when he sees his wife. A little girl appears at the top of the stairs, and Aron remembers that Minki has a little sister, Minkyung. Minkyung looks stunned, then she begins to run down the stairs, howling. 

"Mummy!" She screams, a look of complete horror across her face. Minhyun catches her as she lunges towards her mother, trying to calm the kicking child down. Mr Fawley does a Floo Call for a Mediwitch, and Minki...

Minki looks like he has lost  _everything._

They return to school with grave spirits. Minki's mother survived, but not without a cost. She was in a coma, and Minki had to leave for Hogwarts without his usual goodbye kiss. Aron just holds on to his hand tight and prays that it's the last damage they'll suffer. When they hear Draco Malfoy talking about what happened at the Quidditch Cup, Minki drives himself into a rage, reaching forward to snatch his old friend from the corridor and locking their cabin. 

Minki throws the first punch, all of them too stunned to react. Draco tries to scrabble away from him, scratching red stripes along his arms and drawing blood.

"How _dare_ you talk about it like your father- My  _mother-"_ Minki clenches his fists and grabs the collar of Draco's expensive shirt. "My mother nearly  _died_ because of your father."

Draco pales dramatically and Minki snarls. Dongho pulls Minki off Draco and sits the both of them down in opposite sides of the cabin.

"It's disgusting." Jonghyun says quietly, the six of them silent and fuming in their own injustice. "When people like your father claim to want to keep the bloodlines pure, but then they try to kill purebloods."

Draco is staring at his hands, bloodied and battered from trying to keep Minki off him, and Aron removes a knife from his belt and presses the blade into his skin.

"We all bleed the same, Draco." He continues from his leader intensely. "It'll do you well to remember that."

 

They meet Hyunbin, who's two years younger and yet taller than all of them. He's handsome and a mass of limbs, and Susan makes a small choking noise when she spots him for the first time.

"He's sitting down next to Minki." She whispers to him over mashed potatoes. "He's so handsome, God."

Minki points to Aron, and Hyunbin looks at him. He nods once in acknowledgement and goes back to his potatoes. The Daniel boy Dongho was talking about is similar to his cousin. They both have the muscular, stocky build and a roughish charm. Seongwoo is different, lean and chiselled with a mischievous smile.

Woojin and Jihoon are cute, he supposes. They're first years, eager to begin learning. He thinks that bringing such small children to a battle to the death should be illegal, but Minhyun shrugs.

"They aren't very smart." He agrees.

"Someone should be." Aron complains. "They're so small, Min. What if something happens to them?"

Malfoy crosses their path, and Aron moves aside to let him pass.

"Keep it down." Minhyun reminds, but it sounds half-hearted even to him.

 

Minki's mother makes a full recovery and marches her way to Hogwarts. The five of them are called to the Headmaster's Office at her insistence, and she gathers them up, although her smile is a little weak.

"Didn't get to give you your goodbye kiss." She harrumphs over them, pressing her lips to their foreheads in quick succession. "There, all good now. You five better do well in your studies. I want to see a Head Boy next year."

She winks at Aron, and he looks down, something catching in his chest. She holds him and Minki back, then presses something into his hand.

"Something for you, an agreement of sorts." She murmurs quietly, careful of Dumbledore's eyes on her. Aron opens the letter in the comforts of his own bed, gasping when he sees the Fawley will.

 

In the morning, Box is sent back to the Fawley Manor. Mr Fawley will open a piece of parchment containing two words: _Thank you._

 

 "Minhyun's spending a lot of time with Fluer." Jonghyun complains, and Aron looks over at him in amusement. The both of them are sitting opposite each other, books laid out on the communal studying space in the Hufflepuff common room. 

"Jealous?" Aron teases lightly. Jonghyun flings an eraser at him from where he is trying to solve some Arithmetic questions. "Hey, I'm your hyung."

"It's just strange." Jonghyun catches the eraser as Aron throws it back. "I think he has a secret. All he's saying is that they are related or something."

"He'll tell you about it if it's important." He comments offhandedly. A pleased flush spreads across his leader's cheeks, and Aron hides a smile.

 

They're sitting together to watch the first match of the Triwizard Tournament. Minhyun rushes up to them just as the commentator begins, sitting down hurriedly next to Jonghyun.

"Where did you go?" Minki questions impatiently, handing him his hotdog. Minhyun bites into it and grins back, teeth smeared with ketchup.

"Fleur was worried." He confides, and Aron watches as Jonghyun's face darkens.

 

In between the first match and the second, the Yule Ball happens. They're all supposed to find dates to the Ball, and Aron asks Minki to go with him. As friends. Minki agrees, and Dongho looks slightly put out.

"You think I can ask Jonghyun?" He asks him as they move along to the library to study. "Minhyun should be going with the Veela girl, right?"

Aron hums, discontent at the thought. Jonghyun would be  _devastated._

"I think they might be going together." Aron finds them a quiet table near the back. They study together in silence, Aron leaning over to check Dongho's Potions essay in the last hour of their curfew. A shadow falls over them, and a scent like peaches and strawberries drift over their heads. Dongho looks up first, and Aron senses his jaw go slack.

"Um, hi." Dongho says dazedly, and Aron looks up to see who has robbed his best friend of his sharp tongue.

It's Fleur, and she asks Dongho directly to the Yule Ball while ignoring Aron. The snub hurts, but Aron holds his tongue and watches with amusement as Dongho accepts.

"Good." Fleur nods. "I'll contact you about what to wear."

"Yes ma'am." Dongho smiles obediently. Fleur blushes a bit.

"You're cute. Minhyun was right." She murmurs under her breath and comes to pat his head. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend. Friends?"

"Okay." Dongho says happily, and Fleur gives Aron a nod before moving off. Dongho spends the next hour looking absurdly happy, and when he drops him off at the Fat Lady, he's  _still_ grinning like a fool.

 

Minhyun  _does_ ask Jonghyun to the ball, and Aron has to deal with a lot of nervous hopping and jumping about:  _Hyung, what am I going to wear?_

"You can wear a trashbag and he'll look at you like you hung up the stars." He pats his head. They're  _so_ cute. 

"It's not like that, it's just that it's our first Ball-"

 

Fleur looks beautiful, of course. She's dressed in molten silver, her hair done up in a skillful chignon and a grey, glittering headpiece to match. Dongho looks clean in his simple black suit, and Aron whistles under his breath as he sees him. Minki's dressed in finery, a deep plum shade that brings out the dark intensity of his eyes and the hollow of his cheeks. Jonghyun and Minhyun look so  _cute_ together Aron cannot help but coo at the both of them, taking his Muggle Poloroid to take pictures. The both of them are dressed in dark red, and Jonghyun has a thin choker around his neck. 

"Give it to him." Aron hisses, and Jonghyun removes the box from his pocket, tossing it to Minhyun.

"Put it on!" He yelps, hands shaking, then he goes to fetch drinks from everyone. Aron touches the sleeves of his grey suit as Minhyun opens the box, confused. Jonghyun returns just in time to see Minhyun put the earring on, and he beams. 

The night goes well, and Aron brings Minki back to the Slytherin dorms at twelve. 

"Thanks, hyung." Minki catches his sleeve before he walks off. "I had fun."

"Me too, Ren." He pats his best friend's cheek, and suddenly he sees an image layered over Minki. The man he sees looks strong, beautiful, and powerful.

"Hyung?" Minki asks, and Aron smiles distractedly. It's him, he realises. His Ren, just all grown up. "What are you staring at?"

"I just thought..." Aron says softly. "That you'd make a very powerful wizard."

 

They are on their feet, pacing.

Harry Potter has not returned from the maze, along with Cedric. Jonghyun is white in his worry, and Minhyun is holding on to his hand tightly.

"He'll be fine, right?" Jonghyun asks, and Minki looks down at his feet. There is a reason why they haven't returned, and it's probably not good with how purple Dumbledore's face is getting. Mr Diggory is with Jonghyun, the both of them waiting at the mouth of the maze. 

The air shimmers, and suddenly Harry is there, a body at his feet. Jonghyun lets out a cry and kneels by the body, peering to see if he recognizes him.

 _"No."_ Jonghyun mourns, and Aron sits down in his seat.

"Voldemort has returned!" He hears Harry yell, Dumbledore clutching his arm in a vice like grip and hauling the boy back to the castle. Minhyun is by Jonghyun's side, the both of them kneeling next to Cedric's body. Aron feels a hot rush of anger, of  _injustice._ Cedric was the nicest person, the nicest Quidditch captain, the nicest  _friend._ And he was dead, because a stupid Goblet sent him to his death.

It wasn't  _right._

 

"Another year gone." Dongho mutters, body rocking along to the clattering of the train home. They are all slightly dazed with how quickly the year has passed. Aron locks the compartment for good measure, leaning against the leather seats and breathing out.

Cedric's funeral was a solemn affair, and Jonghyun cried buckets. Aron tried not to tear up, but it was impossible when even Peeves was silent for the entire ceremony.

Minhyun said goodbye to Fleur, and when asked, he would only say that she helped him a lot with handling himself. Aron knew better than to ask when the other had that glint in his eye. 

They were going home, all five of them. Aron would be staying with the Choi-Fawleys from now on, something that he was very grateful for. Since he sent the letter home to America, he hadn't gotten one back. He supposed it was a good thing, although it seemed a little bittersweet.

**FIFTH YEAR - JONGHYUN**

Aron is Head Boy. 

The announcement over lunch brings joy to the entire family, and Minhyun shakes out his Prefect badge to much applause. Jonghyun's letter is strangely delayed, making a metallic clunk when it lands on the mantle. He feeds the school owl a treat and waves goodbye before eyeing the letter with trepidation.

"You could be one." Minhyun says, feet tucked up on the footstool and lying against the flowery arm chair.

"There are better people." He says, holding the letter. They are alone, with everyone outside having a picnic.

"You  _could."_ Minhyun insists. "You're the best Hufflepuff student in your year, and you're nice to everyone. Everybody knows how much you tutored that Guanlin boy."

"I'm not that good of a wizard." He tells the letter. "I'm not worth it."

Minhyun moves so fast Jonghyun doesn't see him. His back slams against the wall as Minhyun cages him in, pressing their foreheads together.

 _"You are worth everything."_ Minhyun promises, voice low and intense. "You deserve everything and better."

Jonghyun looks away from Minhyun's dark gaze, the easy toffee brown of his eyes turned black. His heart is thundering away in his chest, and Minhyun kisses his forehead before stepping away.

He opens the letter and tilts the object in his palm.

It's a Perfect's Badge after all.

 

"Good job, Dongho!" He beams, and the boy hops off his broom, having become the new Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

"Hey Dongho! No fraternizing with the enemy!" Angelina Johnson hollers from the sky, and Jonghyun rolls his eyes good-naturedly. 

"You did well, Baekho." He praises, and Dongho grins. "See you on the battle field!"

 

"Bloody hell, Draco just  _had_  to get the three of them off the team!" Dongho complains, shooting Professor Umbridge a venomous look behind her back. "Ginny's fine, but Andrew and Jack? Ugh."

"Cheer up, Dongho." Jonghyun tries to say as optimistically as he can without laughing. "They might pull through."

"Shut up, we're against Hufflepuff next week." Dongho grumbles, and Aron shoots them an amused look as Jonghyun begins to cackle away.

 

When Minki announces Aron's position as Lord Fawley, everything falls into place  _much easier._ Jonghyun watches as Aron spins a nice trap for Professor Umbridge, making sure that she'll never touch them.

"Who're you going to be, hyung?" Jonghyun asks, lounging on their picnic blanket. "Minister?"

"I want to be Headmaster here." Aron says absently, stroking the blades of grass of the sides of the mat. "You can be Minister, Jonghyun-ah. I'll leave that one to you."

"Sure, hyung." 

 

"Why does Umbridge leave you guys alone?" Hermione moans, and Jonghyun listens quietly. "She picks on us all the time!"

"Blood, mostly." He reveals. "Dongho's a Sewlyn, Minki and Aron are on the Sacred 28, Minhyun is related to a very strong political candidate for Minister. The five of us hang around so much, she knows better than to touch me."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Hermione continues her tirade. "Why should blood-"

"Not just blood." He notes. "Alliances."

"You know, for the strongest Hufflepuff in our year, you sure don't act like one.' Hermione observes as they trot to Defense. 

"I was a Hatstall." Jonghyun remembers, giving her a little grin. "I'm a jack of all trades."

"Jonghyun." Minhyun calls, and he turns back to find him. "Hyung wants to see us for a moment."

He turns to Hermione apologetically, but she just waves him off.

"What does he need?" Jonghyun asks, and Minhyun shrugs.

"Just wanted to see you." He dodges the punch Jonghyun throws at him just on time. "What? Can't I see my best friend?"

Jonghyun purses his lips. The word 'best friend' has been dangerous territory between him and Minhyun lately.

"What's wrong?" Minhyun questions obviously, and he sighs.

"Nothing."

 

"Hyung." Jonghyun sets his things down next to the scholar at their usual spot in the library, since Aron is staying in the Heads' dorms now. "How did you even study for your OWLs with Sirius Black around?"

"I took Muggle Studies, for one thing." Aron doesn't look up from his Transfiguration notes. "So much easier to score at than Care of Magical Creatures. You  _just_ had take that  _and_ Arithmancy."

 _"Hyung."_ Jonghyun tries to sound as pitiful as he can. "I'm dying."

"I'm studying for my NEWTs, do you know how hard it is? OWLs are a piece of cake compared to it." Aron tells his Transfiguration textbook. 

"But-"

"Suck it up, that's the way of life." Aron pats his head. "Get to work."

 

Dongho bangs into the Hufflepuff dormitories one night later, yelling the entire House down for Jonghyun. Ernie goes up the steps to the boy's dorm to fetch him from the middle of his shower, dragging him out half dressed with pants on but no shirt.

 _"What?"_ He groans in exasperation, but Dongho looks around furtively. Jonghyun follows his gaze to see the crowd of girls that have gathered to inspect his body. "Oh, fuck."

"Grab a shirt, let's go." Dongho insists, and Jonghyun puts a black shirt on before they leave the dorms running. 

"What happened?" He asks, huffing. They're nearing the seventh floor corridor.

"Umbridge used a Blood Quill on Harry." He reveals. "Harry's set up a paramilitary force here, trying to teach the others spells. We're going to join."

"Um, okay." Jonghyun sees Minhyun and Minki turn the corner, and Dongho starts to pace the corridor in front of nothing. The door appears, and Minki straightens his robes before putting his game face on. He opens the door, pushing it so it makes a loud bang against the other side to draw the attention of every one inside. 

Wands are drawn at him immediately, and Jonghyun steps in front of him. A hasty, wandless disarming spell makes all the wands fly towards him and land at their feet.

"What are you lot doing here?" Minki asks, his tone contemptuous. "This is  _our_ room for practice."

The bold statement raises eyebrows, and Jonghyun sees a mass of ruffled black hair move to take the alpha spot among the group.

"You had practice together?" Harry questions, white faces. "Why didn't you help us?"

"For one," Minki studies the state of the room. "Would you be truly willing to  _learn?"_

The question strikes a chord in the group, who shifts uneasily.

"I want the room back." Minki insists. "We had it first."

"Liar!" Weasely hollers. "You filthy Death Eater."

Dongho narrows his eyes and casts out his left hand, biceps clenching impressively. Ron flies up into the air, and Minhyun does a quick Silencing Charm as Dongho brings him closer.

"Your father owes mine a blood debt." Minki hisses. "I am not a Death Eater. Your prejudice is deplorable. There are reasons why your brothers left me alone, but I see you do not match up to them in this way  _as well."_

"Minki." Jonghyun warns, getting a hang of where's he's going. Ron turns red very quickly, and Jonghyun tells Dongho to send him back, without breaking his ankle.

"Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen." Jonghyun opens his stance and  _knows_ what every one sees - a 'Puff, weak and a push over. "We do need a room for practice. You can ask Professor Sprout if you don't believe us." This one is a fluke, but his Head of House will protect her students without fail. No one needs to know.

"You can't ask us to  _leave."_ Hermione steps forward. "Can't we share the room? You can take that corner-"

"A corner." Minhyun cuts in now, looking decidedly unimpressed. "Of the room that was ours."

Hermione colours, and Jonghyun sighs.

"I suppose we could just join into whatever this is." He offers. "We make good teachers-"

 _"Harry's_ the teacher here." Katie points.

"I do need some help." Harry confesses. "They are way more people than I expected."

"I'll need you to sign here, then." Hermione hurries forward with a piece of parchment. Jonghyun looks over it and cringes at the title before signing it and passing it to the others. Minhyun goes last and passes his wand over it to see the punishment, raising his eyebrows.

"All done." Jonghyun says cheerfully. "Minki's good at Elemental, I'm good at Wandless, Dongho's great for sparring practice, and Minhyun's a Master in Charms."

"A  _Master?"_ Hermione squeaks again, and Jonghyun tries not to roll his eyes again.

 

Aron is laughing his ass off at the four of them, seated sullenly in front of him and in varying states of despair.

 _"Dumbledore's Army."_ He giggles and Jonghyun cannot stop the grin beginning at the apples of his cheeks. "Cute name, guys."

"Shut up." Minki snaps, a frown on his face. "It's bad enough Dongho dumped us in there with no warning. We actually have to  _teach_ now, and we're all trying to study for our OWLs at the same time."

"It's not that bad-" Dongho protests, and Minhyun shoots him a panicked glare.

"They are talking to me in the hallways now, and the Granger girl won't leave me alone after Jonghyun told her about my Mastership." Minhyun groans. 

"Her name is Hermione, and she's a very nice girl." Jonghyun rebukes. "She's my friend."

"Yeah well, Fleur's my friend and you were so cold to her when she was here." Minhyun mutters under his breath. Jonghyun feels himself colour impressively, and he stands from his seat, making his way out of the forgotten classroom. It's nothing but him running away, and he can hear the sudden stillness of the room and the way the walls are closing in around him.

He bolts.

 

The next day, buried in his blankets, Jonghyun decides to Do Something about it. He knows Minhyun isn't lying when he says that there's nothing between him and the Delacour girl, but he  _has_ to know. It's not that he doesn't trust Minhyun, it's just that he doesn't trust  _himself-_ to accept that Fleur is Minhyun's very beautiful friend and not expect questions.

He pokes his head from the heavy duvet and sees that it's still dark out. A  _Tempus_ tells him that it's five in the morning, three hours away from the first class of the day. He swings his feet over the edge of the bed and makes his way to the toilet to wash up.

He'll slip into the library to hole up with all the NEWTs students before class begins.

 

"What are you doing here?" Cho hisses over to him as he sneaks into the library. She's familiar with him... because of Cedric, but they are still friends. 

"Do you know if there are any yearbooks here?" He questions, and she rolls her eyes, pointing him to the stack. "Thanks."

He remembers Minhyun saying that his mother was pregnant with him while she was in school, but as he flips through the dusty times, there is no account of a Hwang in the yearbooks. He shuts the book, disappointed, and his eyes drift to another book, with  _Triwizard Tournament, 1975_ inscribed with gold in the front.

He flips it open, and a picture falls out from the yellowing pages. Picking it up, he briefly registers that it's a magical one, with all the people inside waving energetically back at him. He glances through the photo, looking at the faces of all the people who went to Beauxbatons for that year's Triwizard Tournament. 

A familiar set of eyes stop him, and he peers even closer to the picture to take a closer look. The woman in the picture has Minhyun's slanted almond eyes and the same face shape, and Jonghyun feels a rush of excitement in his chest when he sees that she has a slight bump. Standing next to her with an arm on her shoulder is a dark skinned man with smile lines at the corners of his eyes, and he flips to the back to check the names. Hwang Inha and... Fahim Shacklebolt. Jonghyun feels his heart leap in his chest, and he makes a quick copy of the picture using the  _Gemino_ spell Aron taught him. The spell is difficult to him, and he strains a little bit before he gets the perfect copy of the picture. 

"You done already?" Cho touches his shoulder, and he spins. She holds up her hands in surrender and peers closer at him. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed."

"I'm fine." Jonghyun mutters automatically, slipping the copy into his robes and the book back into place. "Breakfast?"

 

He sends Box out to Hogsmeade to ask a favor from Aberforth, and Box returns a day later with a heavy book titled "Families with Magical Creature Blood". _Keep the book. -A._ His old friend writes on a slip of paper stained with Firewhisky. The page on Veela is marked out with a fluorescent Muggle highlighter, and he gasps when he sees the list of names.  _Hwang_ is listed as a descendant of the Delacour line, and Jonghyun blinks in disbelief before he copies the page out with the  _Gemino_ spell again. 

"Oh, Minhyun." He mumbles under his breath, breath hitching when he sees that Veelas have to claim their mate at the age of fifteen or else face a slow death. "Why didn't you tell us?"

 

When Minhyun wakes up the next morning, there's a lump in his bed. He peels back the covers to see Jonghyun's kitten familiar curled up against his blue sheets, a folded piece of paper tucked into its white collar. 

 

"You should have told us." Jonghyun says firmly around the circle of black robes. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that people treated Magical Creatures like  _dirt."_ Minhyun hisses back, curling into himself in self defense. The others look hopelessly confused, and Jonghyun turns to Minhyun.

"Tell them," He insists. "Or I will."

"I'm half-Veela." Minhyun looks like he's choking out the words from deep in his chest. "Happy? Are you going to throw me away now?"

"What the fuck?" Dongho blurts out, eyebrows drawn together. "You didn't tell us you were half-Veela because you thought we would ostracize you? Are you fucking dumb?'

"I can't believe you thought that of us." Minki interrupts, eyes alight with fire. Minhyun leans away from them when he reaches out to touch him. "We've been friends for ten years, Min. When we faced the Dementor in the train, I saw the flames in your hands and I suspected, but..."

Jonghyun bites his lip when he sees Minhyun flinch as Aron wraps a supporting arm around him.

"There's something else." Minhyun whispers. "My father... left us to die. My mother killed herself when I was five. That's when I met Minki."

Jonghyun collapses into his seat and reaches across the circle to grab Minhyun's hand. 

"Min." He croons as the boy turns his face away from all of them, ashamed. "Min, we're not leaving you."

Minki gets up from his seat and deposits himself into Minhyun's lap, curling his lanky arms around the boy and holding on tight. Dongho shuffles one seat over and hooks a leg over the both of them, pressing his forehead into Minhyun's cheek. Aron strokes the back of Minhyun's head, patting down the tufts of hair that are standing on end from tension. Jonghyun shifts in his seat uneasily, shaking his head when Minki turns around to jerk his head at him.

 _Come here._ Minki mouths threateningly, but there's something in Jonghyun that holds back, unsure.

"Min." His best friend's name comes out as a garble, and he swallows down the worry in his throat. "What about the mating thing?"

Minhyun looks around Minki's shoulder at him, and Jonghyun feels a rush of emotions, of  _knowing_ inside him. He knows, somehow, that this moment will change his life. He knows, somehow, that this moment will shift the balance he has struggled to keep for the past three years. 

He knows, somehow, that this will change  _everything._

"That's the easiest part, I suppose." Minhyun smiles emptily. "It's you."

 

Jonghyun shuffles his way through classes, keeping quiet in DADA and thinking about his relationship with Minhyun.

On one hand, he knows that if he does not accept Minhyun's kiss, his best friend (really? Were they still friends at this point?) would die. On the other, he knows his own feelings. He knows that he fell for Minhyun the first time they met, five years back. It's why he deflected the Twins' attention from him, why he had scattered after that like a lovesick fool. He knows, deep inside, that he's already Minhyun's.

The problem lies in Minhyun himself, the boy prone to overthinking and over analysis. Jonghyun scoffs under his breath at the thought, and Professor Umbridge glances up sharply at him from the professor's desk.

 _You're the one to talk._ He thinks dully, not bothering to smile apologetically. Minhyun... Minhyun had clammed up after the announcement, ignoring Jonghyun when he approached him, standing him up for their weekly Charms and Arithmancy study sessions, and just pretending that they didn't spend the past five years of their life together. Aron gave him an upset, passing glance when he waited for another hour in the Library, with no Minhyun in sight.

"Go back to the dorms, Jong." Aron coaxed, and he had been too exhausted to protest. As Aron dropped him off at the Hufflepuff Portrait Hole, he thought he saw a glimpse of his mate before the figure disappeared around the corner.

He's  _tired_ of pretending that nothing happened. Minki had tried to help by locking the both of them in a closet together, but Minhyun had murmured a escape spell under his breath and fled. Dongho punched Minhyun in the face after Jonghyun cried on the third day, and now the both of them weren't talking either.

Jolting up from his seat when he hears the bangs, he ducks down low in his seat as two dragons sail into the classroom, thoroughly disturbing the lesson. The pair of flying fireworks seem to be targeted at Professor Umbridge himself, and at the next table, Ron turns to Harry with a proud smile.

"The Twins." Hannah says in amazement, and Professor Umbridge lets out a screech and runs into the hallways. The entire class follows, Jonghyun packing his things into his satchel and walking into the main door. The dragons are joined by a spectacular bout of fireworks, and he gapes at the sight. Aron and Minhyun would go  _crazy_ for the secret behind the spell work.

 _"Fred and George Weasely!"_ Professor McGonagall wrenches herself from the stunned crowd, although she looks very amused. "Stop it!"

"Stop it  _at once!"_ Professor Umbridge echoes in terror, clutching at her chest. "I will have you expelled!"

"See, we've got a special announcement to make-" The Twins are sailing above them all on their brooms, and one calls out to the line of shocked professors at the corridor.

"We're dropping out of Hogwarts!" The other continues, and beside him he can hear someone whisper in an equally astonished and horrified tone:  _"What?"_ He suspects it to be the youngest female Weasely.

"As a praying gift, we'd like to inform all of you of our new establishment at Diagon Alley, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" The other one waves his wand, and a pinata explodes, raining golden invitations down on all of them. Jonghyun snatches one from the air.

 _Get your way in school with Weasely's Skiving Snackboxes!_ The card reads.  _10% off for Hogwarts students!_

"Jesus Christ." Terry murmurs from behind him, and the Twins do a final cartwheel before flying towards Hogsmeade, straight out of the Great Hall. "Hey, um, Jonghyun, right?"

"Yes." He turns, tucking the invitation into his satchel. "Why?"

"Um." Terry says again, looking very nervous. He scratches the back of his head, and Jonghyun realises that there's no Minhyun in sight among the blue scarved group of fellow Fifth Years. "It's Minhyun."

"What about him?" He sharpens his voice, and his classmates looks down at his feet.

"Minhyun's going to kill me." He whispers under his breath, then looks at him straight faced.

"Tell me." Jonghyun insists, hands curving around his wand, aware of the looks around them.

"He collapsed in Charms." Terry says apologetically. "He's in the Hospital Wing."

 

As he runs, he briefly registers that he's never run so fast in his life.

Jonghyun scrambles up the staircases, leaping over the mischievous skipping one and the slippery, teasing one. He runs along the corridors, surprising Professor Sprout when she rounds the corner.

"Oh!" She gasps as Jonghyun jogs past her and up the set of stairs to the Hospital Wing. He barely nods at her before wrenching the door open and slipping inside. 

Minhyun's awake on one of the cots, head lolling to the side to see his visitor. Jonghyun feels a rush of fury at the sight of his pale face, at how the brown of his eyes are going red, at how his hands are shaking as he sets the potion down.  He strides towards him quickly, and wrenches him by the robes. Madam Pomphrey is very wisely out of sight, and Jonghyun waves a hand impatiently to close the curtain. 

"You're a goddamn coward, Hwang Minhyun." He huffs, the righteous anger making his words short and to the point.

"Well." Minhyun says tiredly. "I was never a Gryffindor."

"You-" Jonghyun laughs suddenly. A sense of relief swells inside him, that Minhyun still looks alive and kicking, that Minhyun is laughing with him. "You idiot."

"Hm." Minhyun hums, and he looks better already. Jonghyun lets go of him and settles into the cot, shoving him over shamelessly. "Stop it, you're sweaty."

Jonghyun rolls him with the blanket and props his chin on his shoulder, humming under his breath. Eventually, his mate stops squirming and relaxes in his arms. 

"Do you love me?" Minhyun whispers in the dark silence, and Jonghyun opens his eyes, breathing in the scent of vanilla, honey and antiseptic.

"I've loved you for five years, and been in love with you for two." He snaps, and Minhyun twists to face him. Jonghyun rolls him over again, his mate too weak to protest. The silence between them is charged and electric, and Minhyun rubs circles into the back of Jonghyun's palm.

"Why are you the big spoon?" Minhyun complains again, and Jonghyun slaps his forehead. 

"Shut up and sleep."

 

Later, Jonghyun slips from the cot and stands over Minhyun to make his choice. Very slowly, he leans down and presses his lips to his mate's. It's chaste and quick, but Jonghyun feels the click in his brain, the warm feeling in his chest, and when he steps away he yearns to get it back. 

"Sorry, Min." He tells his sleeping mate, waving his wand to open up the curtains. "I can't have you weak like this because of me."

 

"You want to go to Hogsmeade?" Minhyun nudges him in the middle of Charms practice, and the vase he's been trying drops to the ground with the break in focus. Minhyun saves it with a Cushioning Charm and looks at him expectantly, tilting his head.

"Sure." He flips the wand in his hand. "We should celebrate Minki's birthday too-"

"No, just us." Minhyun interrupts, and their eyes connect. Jonghyun feels a jump in his heartbeat and grins.

"A date, huh?" He hooks his arms around his mate's waist and cages him into a nearby wall.

"If you want to call it that." Minhyun gasps, breathless but grinning down at him. Jonghyun bumps their foreheads together and lets him go. "You can decide."

"A date it is." Jonghyun beams back, and Minhyun lights up, his smile warming him up from the inside. "I'll bring you on a ride with my broom, if you trust me."

Minhyun wriggles his eyebrows at him and he rolls his eyes, slapping his chest.

"I trust you." Minhyun's eyes dart to his lips, but he pecks him on the forehead instead. "I always have."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the prompter: some fluffy parts!! but bc I'm Extra the next part is angst (sorry prompter, second part isn't for u since u said no angst)


	2. cave inimicum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cave inimicum - cave inimicum is the incantation of a protective spell that conjures up a shield that keeps the caster hidden from others. those who are on the other side of the shield will not be able to see them, hear them or, if the spell is well-casted, smell them.
> 
> from, [Harry Potter Wiki](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Cave_inimicum)

**PROLOGUE**

 

“Firing a regular spell, or a hex,” Minhyun explains, gesturing to the blackboard he has in front of him, “requires the person to focus, take time to be accurate, and then say the incantation. I’ve found a way to shorten, and the spell will focus automatically.

“Let’s say someone is firing at me,” at this point, something fires out of the darkness and rebounds off an invisible dome-like shield around his body, “I say ‘Reperio’ and the shot fires. Watch.”

Minki tucks his feet up above him, watching the proceedings with a cool gaze.

“Reperio!” Minhyun commands, and the shot fires out automatically. He shoves his wand back into the holster and spreads his arms, grinning. “Fashioned after the muggle gun, because Jonghyun says we cannot bring muggle guns into this—”

“But, we can be inspired,” Dongho finishes, leaning against the wall and grinning. “Mind if I try it out on you, Hwang?”

Minhyun nods, summoning his wand again with a flick of his fingers, and Dongho disappears. Aron sighs and constructs an invisible wall for the rest of them to peek through while the two play.

“Mutatio Skullus! Ebublio!”

Minhyun dodges easily and shouts, “Reperio Claudus!” The bright, yellow spark shoots through the air and jerks to a stop before a gap before the wall. Dongho materializes seconds later, the improved Invisibility Charm melting off his shoulders.

“Nice,” Dongho comments, stepping out of the firing range. “it would work fine as a Point Me. What about real damage?”

Minhyun waves his hand, and the spark continues on its journey to hit the pillar behind it. The wood splinters and explodes, and Dongho scurries out of the way with a scowl on his face. Aron banishes the wall and utters a hurried ‘Reparo’, turning to look at Minhyun with an exasperated look in his eyes.

“Minhyun—" he begins, but Jonghyun interrupts him.

“Wandless?” he questions, and Minhyun shrugs, pointing to him with the tapered end of his wand.

“That’s for you to find out,” says he, a little tiredly. “Have to practice though, it takes energy.”

“We’ll start the drills again,” Jonghyun nods once, then walks quickly out of the room. Aron sighs at his leaving back and turns to Minki.

“He’s stressed, isn’t he?” he asks. Minhyun’s smile has faded away to something a little more thoughtful and profound.

“Doesn’t sleep, anymore,” he murmurs, placing his fingers on the edge of the wooden table. “Spends his time trying to help me with the Arithmancy in the spellwork.”

“You’re doing well,” Dongho says comfortingly, reaching a hand out to pat his shoulder, “besides, we still have Aron, he’s coming back for DADA.”

“Bloody NEWT students,” Minki complains, his white hair tousled. Aron runs his fingers through it in fascination, and the boy bats off his fingers with a warning frown. “It’s ridiculous.”

“I lived, so will you,” Aron admonishes gently, pressing the pads of his fingers into Minki’s scalp to soothe him. “Stop being spoilt brats, all of you. We have other things to worry about.”

“How’s the Twenty Eight?” Dongho asks.

“Boring,” Aron snaps, letting go of Minki’s head. “My time is wasted there.”

“Why are you boys aren’t asleep yet?” Minki’s mother demands, clicking down the steps in her black flats and putting both hands on her hips. “Jonghyun is in bed already!”

“That loser didn’t warn us!” Dongho exclaims in betrayal, and Minki’s mother’s bosom swells in outrage.

“To sleep!” she continues scolding, although a half smile is playing on her lips. “Off! We will start again tomorrow-”

Minki pauses before the door, holding his mother’s hand and leading her to bed. She’s getting a limp, he notes in disappointment. His mother tells him to dye his hair back to black, so he nods and kisses her on the cheek before he goes to sleep.

The day they receive their O.W.L. results come faster than they expect. Four letters land on the Choi-Fawley mantle on Saturday morning in the middle of a six a.m. breakfast. Dongho rips his open first, then beams and reveals that he’s got eight O.W.L.s. At that, Minki rolls his eyes languidly and comments that if Dongho got eight, he would get nine. So he gets nine O.W.L.s, as expected. Minhyun gets eight O.W.L.s, while Jonghyun gets ten, along with a congratulatory letter written by Dumbledore. He reads through it before scoffing and passing it around. It reads:

_Dear Mr. Kim,_

_It makes me proud that such a fine pupil from my establishment—a Hufflepuff, and a muggleborn!—has earned such grades. I hope to see you excel in your N.E.W.T.s as well._

_Signed,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry_

Minki’s mother lets out a long-suffering sigh and banishes the card, then continues buttering her roll.

“What does yours say, Aron?” she inquires, and Aron shrugs.

“I have to leave earlier to set up my classroom,” he indulges, “and I have to patrol the train.”

“Fair enough,” Dongho mumbles from a mouthful of pound cake.

“Dongho,” Minki scolds, and the boy mutters an apology before stuffing his mouth.

“Today, we’ll be practicing Minhyun’s new spell,” Minki’s father pushes himself upright in his seat. “With the changes in the Magical Cabinet… things are getting rocky. We need to be ready.”

“Yes, sir,” Minhyun answers. Minki’s father rises from his chair and jabs a finger at Jonghyun, and the two of them go out to practice first. Minki’s mother turns to Minhyun with a frown.

“Jonghyun’s all tense,” she accuses. “Did you two fight?”

“No…” Minhyun says, uncertain. “At least, I don’t think so?”

“Jonghyun is just worrying,” Dongho, at long last, provides some useful insight. “Ever since he saw the boggart upstairs by himself again, he’s been a little paranoid.”

“There’s a boggart upstairs?” Minki’s mother shrieks, horrified. Dongho jumps in his seat as if he’s been kicked from under the chair. Minki shoots him an irritated glance, then prods Aron with his elbow.

“It may be a good idea to see what our fears are,” Aron interrupts smoothly. “After all, they are our weaknesses.”

 

That leads them to the top floor, where Dongho points to a cupboard. It starts rattling the moment they set foot into the room, and Minki’s mother strides across the room to get to it. The four of them line up, one after another, with Minki in front. The last time he did it, he fainted. This time, he says, he wants to defeat it.

“Here we go,” Minki’s mother says, yanking the door open. The boggart lifts itself out of the cupboard, curling like black smoke on the floor and stopping inches away from Minki. He tilts his chin up defiantly, and the pile of smoke almost… _smiles,_ then separate to form five very familiar figures on the floor.

Minki opens his mouth, screaming a little bit. There’s a hand on his shoulder, and then the hand disappears. Strong arms wrap around his waist, and someone whispers to him, “You have to do it, Ren.”

Almost instantly, he remembers another sentence: _“I just thought… that you’d make a powerful wizard.”_

“Riddikulus!” he howls, tearing himself from the person’s grip and lunging forward blindly. He points his wand, almost jabbing it into the smoke. The boggart disappears to show Dumbledore in Victoria Secret lingerie, and Minki stumbles. There is no energy left in him to laugh. Someone picks him up from the floor easily and sets him to one side of the room to recover, and a chocolate bar is shoved into his hand. He leans against the wall, forcing his eyes open, and tears off the wrapper.

Aron’s fear is the same as Minki’s, but he manages to say the counter curse much quicker than he does. Dongho’s fear is apparently their ghosts—the boggart forms four wispy apparitions that stretch their smoky fingers out to them. Dongho tries to punch the boggart in the face, then yells out, “Riddikulus!”

Minhyun is next, trembling. The smoke splits into five, except Minhyun freezes long enough for them to make out what he’s seeing—it’s _him,_ Minhyun, except with big black wings and black eyes. The boggart is holding Jonghyun around the waist, almost like an embrace, but he has a knife in his other hand pointed at his neck. Around the boggart’s feet are the bodies of Minki, Aron and Dongho, as well as other people he cannot see. As they watch, the boggart slits Jonghyun’s throat.

Minhyun howls in anger at that moment, and Minki briefly registers that his hands are alight with flames again before Minhyun reaches forward to clap his hands around the boggart’s ears. It shouldn’t be possible, yet the sheer _power_ of Minhyun’s rage burns the boggart. The creature howls, in Minhyun’s _voice,_ and ducks back into the cupboard. Minki’s mother slams in shut, chest heaving.

Someone runs up the stairs and slams open the door. It’s Jonghyun, whose face is red from exertion.

“Minhyun,” he begins, and his mate turns to face him. Something changes in Jonghyun’s expression, a feeling of something _wrong,_ before he slumps sideways to the floor.

Minki’s mother makes a distressed noise and runs forward to roll him so his back is to the floor.

“I didn’t—” Minhyun exclaims in fear. “I didn’t do anything. Oh God—”

Minki scampers from his position on the floor over to Jonghyun, doing a basic Diagnosis spell on him.

“Minhyun, he’s okay!” he calls out to his best friend, who has Aron and Dongho trying to calm him down.

“He’s... he’s alive?” Minhyun checks, voice terrified.

“He just went to sleep,” Minki checks the lights above Jonghyun’s body. “It seems that his brain shut down for him to get some rest.”

“I…” Minhyun stutters. “I have to go.” He walks the long way around the room, giving Jonghyun’s body a wide berth, and runs out of the doors. Minki looks to Dongho for an explanation just as they hear the front door slam shut.

“It’s just shock,” Dongho soothes, coming forward to pick Jonghyun up. He seems to have shaken off the fear from the boggart, but Aron calls out to him before he can leave with Jonghyun.

“What are we going to do?” their eldest asks. “Our weaknesses are each other.”

“Hyung,” Dongho says gently, “so are our strengths.”

 

It is around a week later that they Floo to Diagon Alley to purchase the books for sixth year. Aron has left for Hogwarts with his three trunks and Minki’s mother burst into tears while seeing him off. Minki looked to the side, rubbing at his forehead, and finally Aron hugged them all goodbye before apparating off.

They get their books fairly quickly, dropping by the ice cream parlor for afternoon tea—right until they see Draco ducking into Knockturn Alley.

“Harry,” Jonghyun breathes in recognition, eyes fixed on somewhere behind Dongho’s back, and they all turn to watch Harry—and presumably Ron and Hermione—disappear into thin air.

“James Potter _did_ have an Invisibility Cloak,” Dongho sighs, shaking his head. “Man, the things I could do with one.”

“Do we track them?” Minhyun asks, and looks away when Jonghyun tries to look at him. Minki frowns at the sight.

“Jonghyun and Minhyun go,” he orders, and Minhyun turns to him with a despairing look. “The three of us are not done with our ice cream.”

“Dongho’s done,” Minhyun says flatly. Minki looks at the table and scowls, shoving a Galleon into his best friend’s hand under the table.

“I’m going to buy another one!” Dongho chirps, holding up the Galleon for everyone to see. “Bye!”

Aron shoots him a look of amusement, but he glares back and jerks his chin at the couple who are sitting next to each other, but awkwardly. Minhyun has his arm over the back of Jonghyun’s chair, yet the limb is so tense it’s practically trembling. Minhyun is also leaning slightly away from his mate and his body is turned towards Minki’s. Jonghyun seems to know that something is wrong, for he keeps making failed attempts to grab Minhyun’s hand.

 

“You’re mad at me,” Jonghyun murmurs, and Minhyun huffs out a sigh.

“I’m not mad at you,” he says, and Jonghyun stops. Minhyun halts in his footsteps a moment later, turning back to look at him.

“That’s the first time you’ve looked at me properly for a week,” Jonghyun scowls. “Do you take me for a fool, Hwang Minhyun?” Minhyun winces and steps forward, reaching out to his mate.

“I’m angry you passed out,” he murmurs, pulling him into a hug. “I’m angry my Boggart is of me killing you.”

“See?” Jonghyun complains, punching at him weakly. Minhyun puts his chin on top of Jonghyun’s head and closes his eyes. “This is what happens when we don’t _communicate—_ Let go of me.” Minhyun’s eyes snap open and he lets go. Jonghyun spins out of his grasp, running down Knockturn Alley. Minhyun curses and runs after him.

His boyfriend stops behind some paper boxes, stooping low. He copies the movement, bending down low. As they watch, Draco comes out of Borgin and Burkes looking very frazzled. After he stomps off, Harry and his friends materialize out of nowhere, chatter quietly between themselves, and then stalk off after their enemy. Jonghyun clucks his tongue and straightens himself, then pauses, looking back at the mouth of the alley.

There are three people striding down, and the biggest one on the right side has an ice cream cup in his hand.

“Took you long enough,” Minhyun growls, and Minki winks, looking down at their intertwined hands.

“I took as long as you two needed,” he announces. “What’s happening?”

“Draco went in, something happened,” Jonghyun says, pointing to the sign that says ‘Borgin and Burkes’. “Minki, open the door and interrogate him. There might be curses and stuff.”

 _“And stuff,”_ Dongho mimics, and Jonghyun slaps at his hand. Dongho drops the spoon, and he looks up, an expression of ultimate betrayal on his face. Aron sighs, pinches at his nose bridge, picks the spoon up, does an ‘Evanesco’ and hands the spoon back to Dongho to prevent the upcoming tantrum. Thankfully, Dongho is appeased and goes back to his ice cream with one last glare at Jonghyun.

Meanwhile, Minki and Minhyun are already at the shopfront. Minki touches the doorknob, and the door swings open. Dongho hands his cup over to Jonghyun, then walks up the steps.

“I think only the two of us should go in,” he says, and Aron nods once in acknowledgement, then grabs Jonghyun and Minhyun by the ears and hauls them down the steps.

“We’ll be at home!” their eldest calls, spinning on the spot and Disapparating back home. Minki watches them go with pity—he never liked Side-Along Apparition. Dongho ducks into the shop without hesitation, and he follows behind with a last look at the alley.

Minki removes the hood of his jacket, looking around. The entire room radiates with Dark Magic, the magic so potent it slides beneath his skin and breathes into his ears. Dongho seems to be excited, his hands are trembling.

“How may I help you fine gentlemen?” someone croaks from the counter. It takes all his training to prevent him from flinching when he turns. The man at the cashier has been cursed at with boils all over his face.

“Choi-Fawley Minki, and my associate,” he gestures, “Kang-Selwyn Dongho.”

“Selwyn,” the man breathes, “and Fawley… ooh, you boys are playing naughty, aren’t you?”

“We’ve come to check on Draco Malfoy,” Dongho says authoritatively. “What did he ask from you?”

“Oh, but I can’t reveal my client’s secrets, young—” the man’s sentence ends with a howl as Dongho wandlessly breaks his leg. Minki glances over at his friend in shock, he’s never seen Dongho so _Dark;_ his eyes are nearly a flat black. Minki steps closer and curls his hand around his friend’s, and Dongho jolts. When he looks into his eyes, Dongho seems to have calmed a little, eyes going back to their original caramel brown colour.

“Speak,” Minki pronounces the word precisely.

“He wanted me…” the man’s chest heaves, “to fix a Vanishing Cabinet. Please, that’s all.”

“A Vanishing Cabinet?” Minki casts one of Minhyun’s strongest Shield Charms over himself and Dongho. “Very good. We’ll get going now.”

“Wait!” the man calls out as they step out of the door. Minki closes the door once Dongho is fully out and turns back to look at the awful man. “I have… something for you.”

“Something for me?” Minki inquires, stepping a little more into the man’s line of sight. The cashier grins slowly.

“Something of great power, young sir,” the man purrs. “Something only _you_ can appreciate.”

Minki tilts his head and makes a careful, tentative step towards the counter.

“What is it?”

**SIXTH YEAR**

 

The train blares out a final call of warning to the youngsters crowded around their family on the platform, and Jonghyun looks away from the window to inspect the newest arrival to their cabin. A fifth year prefect—Ravenclaw, he supposes—smiles awkwardly and proffers a piece of parchment. Jonghyun stands, reaches out a hand and takes it, unfolding it to read the words: _You are invited to Professor Slughorn’s private compartment for an afternoon soiree._ He glances up and nods at the prefect, and the boy slips away without a mention of his anxious countenance or the sudden silence his presence inflicts upon the entire cabin. Jonghyun shuts the door and turns back, locking it with a wave of his hand behind his back.

“So,” Minhyun says softly, gazing coldly at the intrusion of the usual five, “you’ve decided to come for us for help.”

Draco Malfoy twists his fingers, and Jonghyun identifies the ring he turns on his thumb as the Malfoy ring.

“And what makes you think we would be inclined to offer you amnesty, Heir Malfoy?” Minki tilts his head dangerously, and the words hang between them. Draco makes a strange choking noise.

“Lord Malfoy,” he mutters under his breath. Aron and Minki share an incredulous look, and Draco straightens his back before declaring strongly: “It’s Lord Malfoy, Heir Choi.”

“Indeed,” Aron inclines his head, “well met, Lord Malfoy. If you don’t mind me asking—”

“My father is dead,” Draco says blankly, lower lip tugged between his teeth, “and instead of him, the Dark Lord resides in my house under my protection.”

Jonghyun moves purposefully between the two rows of hostile boys, taking his seat nearest to the window opposite Aron.

“I see,” he observes calmly, “unfortunately, I am not inclined to take your word for it.”

Draco swallows, then his fingers pull the sleeve up his left forearm. The compartment darkens slightly, and Jonghyun observes Dongho’s sharp recoil as the first mark of black peeks out beneath the white shirt.

“Stop,” Minhyun demands, and Draco freezes.

“No,” Jonghyun overrides, leaning forward so he can see better. “Show me. Look away if you—”

Draco yanks his sleeve up, and Jonghyun studies the Dark Mark with fascination. Beside him, Minhyun’s fists are curled and his boyfriend is pressed backward into the seats as far as he can, as if escaping the very sight of it. Jonghyun casts a wandless revealing spell over the arm, which lights up green but turns into black smoke very quickly. Blinking, he removes the bottle of rubbing alcohol from his bag and uncorks it, pouring it over the wound-like mark. Draco hisses, eyes snapping up to his in betrayal. Jonghyun quirks his lips in response, returning to his seat and slipping the bottle back into his bag. With barely concealed haste, he covers his mark again and looks down in shame.

“Your protection?” Minhyun cuts the silence directly. Draco glances up and sighs tiredly, hand coming up to rub his forehead.

“Malfoy protection,” he corrects, “before he passed, my father…”

“How did he die?” Dongho interrupts, eyes narrowed. Minki raises an eyebrow, but Dongho refuses the chastised look that often comes in similar scenarios, instead looking at Draco like he’s a rogue bludger.

“He was killed by the Dark Lord,” Draco says shortly, breath rushing out of his body and leaving him helplessly slumped against the seats, “and left bottles of his blood behind under a powerful stasis charm.”

“Polyjuice,” Aron snaps his fingers, concentrating. “Hiding in plain sight.” Draco sighs unhappily, and Jonghyun opens his mouth.

“You have patrolling to do,” he tells Aron, who nods in acknowledgement and gets up to leave.

“Wait,” Draco stands too, and five wands are pointed at him at once. Shaken, he raises both hands in defense, speaking quickly, “can you… Can you promise that you won’t tell…”

“Not an oath?” Aron questions with amusement.

“I don’t think I have that much leverage over this discussion—”

“Well-spotted, Malfoy,” Aron’s voice is warm, and the tone of it is all Jonghyun requires to confirm his judgement, “but out of proper decency, I promise you that this remains secret.”

“Thank you,” Draco whispers, his voice rough, lowering himself back into the seat. Aron gives a sharp nod and ruffles their hair before he leaves, closing the door behind him.

“Why us?” Jonghyun questions, and Draco looks up, but not at him.

“Your call for allies isn’t subtle. And… because you will win this war,” he smiles emptily, eyes focused on Minki, “no matter what side you are on. And Slytherins always follow the top of the pack.”

“A wolf metaphor is not something I would expect a snake to use,” Minki comments wryly.

“Well,” Draco says candidly, “at this point, I’ve come to no longer give a fuck about expectations.”

Jonghyun laughs, and Minki joins in after a few seconds of shocked silence.

“You surprise me, Draco Malfoy,” Jonghyun grins, and Minki stands. The both of them swap seats, with Jonghyun now the nearest to the door. Draco’s eyes widen, and Minki gives him a disarming smile. “I call this meeting to order. Let’s make a deal, Draco Lucius Malfoy.”

Draco looks on as Jonghyun conjures a plush armchair to rest in at the head of the compartment, the back resting against the door of the compartment. The lock slides shut with a definitive _click_ that makes Draco sit up straight.

“Well, Lord Malfoy?” Jonghyun says keenly. “Let’s talk.”

 

“I enjoy the meetings too…” Dongho identifies the voice as Luna’s by the rare, tranquil quality it holds, “it was like having friends.” He frowns and slips into her line of vision, smiling softly when she splits off from her… acquaintances to greet him.

“Hi,” she breathes, eyes alight. He nods back, hand coming to rub the back of his neck. “I looked into the bit of information you passed me over the holidays, and I think you might be right.”

“Explains the nargles,” he says with an insouciant shrug. Luna bounces on her heels, and he snaps his chin in the direction of her other friends. “The DA beginning again?”

“Something like that,” she copies his shrug, sticking her hands in her pockets. While he looks like a common pureblood gangster, Luna looks more the part of an innocent kid. He reaches out with one finger to push her spectacles further up her nose, ruffles her bangs, and leaves to join Jonghyun waiting for him. Luna is staring after him when he looks back, and he gives a tiny, uncertain wave before scuttling away. Jonghyun trails behind him, just _reeking_ of amusement, and he elbows him viciously as they split up to sit at their tables. Dongho watches as Jonghyun settles easily into the crowd of Hufflepuffs, charming them all with his soft eyes and a shy smile.

There has been a shift in the dynamics at the teachers’ table, he notices. Smiling absently at Neville, he registers Horace Slughorn at the table, and Professor Snape’s unusually smug expression.

“How was your summer, mate?” Dean Thomas nudges him, and he grins.

“Well, bruv,” he drawls, “it was very enlightening…”

 

Their weekly meetings go by without much social trouble—Minki bangs his books down on the table hissing angrily about how Harry _“weasled his way into Potions, Minhyun, I just_ know _it”_ along with the Weasel himself, and “ _thank God the Granger girl is competent, every_ single _time Professor Snape calls for pairs I just grab onto her and not let go”._ At this point, Jonghyun looks up, with laughter in his eyes, and says: “I know, she told me that much.” Dongho starts chuckling manically as he recounts Harry’s less than ideal start to the Quidditch team auditions, which he himself undoubtedly made his way in. Minhyun reads off a few letters from Fleur, who recounts her dramatic experience at Gringotts and her blossoming friendship with Bill Weasley. Minki calls it “a good choice”, and Jonghyun terms it as “blessedly fortunate” with a blush on his cheeks. Aron watches the four of them grow up, week after week, in the safety of his personal office. Of course, not everything is fun and games. As the sun slips out of sight, Jonghyun leads them in drills, shooting spell after spell in an effort to get them to become as agile as possible. He bests them all, of course, and it’s a sight to see the normally clumsy boy spin elegantly out of the way as Bat-Bogey Hex is flung in his direction.

The mentioned boy also develops a permanently stressed countenance, as well as a blanket of self-torture. His smiles have begun to evaporate faster than water out in strong sunlight, and Minhyun takes determined efforts to make him happy, even turning up at his office in the middle of the night on a non-meeting occasion.

“What do you want, brat?” he rubs his eyes, staring at his friend.

“What does Jonghyun like?” he asks in return, and Aron snarls, shutting the door in his face.

 

The next morning, Minhyun receives a slip of paper that says ‘ _Video games’_ as well as a crude drawing. He turns it around and begs for an interpretation of the abstract art, and Lisa Turpin informs him that it’s a Muggle conception called a ‘Nintendo’, and the odd, round symbol is from the game ‘Pokemon’.

“Not that the Nintendo would work here,” she says off-handedly, eyes dropping back to scan her book on Herbology. Minhyun has never managed to hold her attention for more than five minutes, so he counts it as an achievement that she’s still talking to him. “The wards here clash with the electricity in the batteries.”

“Electricity…” he savours the word in his mouth. From his knowledge of Muggle Chemistry, batteries are sort of dry cells, perhaps formed from electrolysis… or something. His lack of knowledge disturbs him. He manages to obtain a contact for a Muggle electronics shop from Colin Creevey, and orders one on Aron’s account.

The pinch he receives from Professor Fawley and the _hours_ spent on building new, ward-accommodating batteries is worth it when he sees the expression of delight on Jonghyun’s face when he’s presented with the toy at their anniversary.

His boyfriend lights up from the inside at the sight, slotting in the game card reverently and screeching when the Nintendo _actually_ lights up. Their romantic dinner (with a lot of help from the house elves, let’s be honest) is quickly forgotten as Jonghyun pays him no mind. Minhyun can’t quite find the capacity in him to be annoyed, watching the beauty of Jonghyun’s smile illuminated by the small white box and ingraining the memory in his brain.

 

September 13th is a strange day for Hogwarts. The school is leaden down with something, something deep and _sad._

Jonghyun later hears Hannah’s sobs all the way from the boys’ dormitory as she packs her things to go home. He clambers off his bed and to the entrance of the Common Room, standing together with his Hufflepuff brothers and sisters as they weave protection spells over Hannah. The girl is _broken,_ entirely, and her entire body shivers with the aftershocks of her breakdown. Jonghyun moves forward to hug her, before letting her go, praying that this time isn’t the last time he’ll see her again.

 

Their comfortable weekend is disrupted by some idiot who comes trampling into the quiet, cosy Hufflepuff common room, shouting about how Katie Bell has been cursed. The news is startling enough to pull even Jonghyun away from his beloved Nintendo.

“Cursed?” he questions.

“Yeah, by a necklace, apparently,” the girl recounts. “Harry Potter was saying that it had to do with Draco Malfoy, but Malfoy was in detention with Professor McGonagall—”

“Did you say… Malfoy?” he checks, closing the screen of his Nintendo. The girl nods, saying she got her information fresh from _“Lavender Brown herself, you know”._ He thanks her for her information and sends an owl to the Slytherin dorms. Pressing his temples, he uses his wand to write out a message on the back of his palm.

_Meeting, ROR. Now._

 

He taps his wand on their hands as they come in, and Draco stumbles in, eyes wide and hair in an array. He’s been woken from slumber, evident from his untied shoes and half-done tie. There’s a mark on his face that looks suspiciously like the page of a book.

“You called, boss?” Dongho asks wryly, settling into his bean bag. Jonghyun observes Draco look around at the new furnishings in wonder.

“Draco,” he states, and the blonde looks back at him without starting, which is… startling. He inclines his head towards the mismatch of chairs and bean bags and armchairs in the centre of the room, and Draco settles himself cagily in an armchair. Jonghyun takes the yellow one with pink flowers. “What’s this I hear about Katie Bell?”

Draco pales, if that were even possible, even further.

“You Imperio-ed her,” Minki shakes his head, holding up a wand that is distinctly Draco’s. He’s nicked it. “What would Dumbledore say, Malfoy?”

“Like I give a flying _fuck—”_

_“Draco.”_

“It was a package to be delivered to _Dumbledore,_ okay?” Draco says tiredly, throwing his arms up in the air. “Why do I even choose you lot—You’re all so—”

 _“You know why,”_ Minhyun’s voice is as cold as ice, and it silences Draco so abruptly even Jonghyun is surprised.

 

Slughorn’s Christmas party has Aron on patrol duty to ensure that there’s no one hiding below the table and engaging in physical affection. He wrenches two couples slobbering over each other apart and sends them straight to their dormitories without a second thought, keeping an eye out for his friends.

Minhyun and Jonghyun are speaking quietly in a corner, wearing mismatched clothing that looks somehow adorable. He’s pretty sure the wine-coloured robe on Jonghyun belongs to his boyfriend, for the sleeves are a little long and the ends of the expensive cloth drag on the floor. Shaking his head, he directs a transfiguration charm at the article of clothing, grinning to himself when Jonghyun yelps in surprise as the robe fits his leaner frame. Minhyun’s eyes dart about the room, interested, only relaxing when they meet each others’ eyes across the room. They share a quick smile, and Aron moves on.

Harry Potter has invited Luna Lovegood to the party, and while Harry is nowhere to be seen, Luna is in Dongho’s arms. The both of them are dancing to a particular mix of foxtrot and the salsa, and they are a sight to behold as they laugh and skip around the perimeters of the room. Lovegood tilts her head back to laugh even harder, and her golden ringlets spill down her back. Aron gets a split second vision of those curls wrapped up in a purple scarf, the silver ribbon fringe fluttering in the wind as the girl flees a lighted tent. Dongho sees him at that moment, and he plasters a smile on his face before quickly moving on.

Minki’s left early tonight. Slughorn’s Christmas party holds no significance to his list of priorities, and apparently one of the baby serpents tonight have received _feedback_ from their esteemed Head of House. The poor girl was in tears, the last he heard. Aron moves on further, before raised voices draw his attention to the corridor outside the office.

“Argh, take your hands off me, you filthy Squib!” Draco hisses, being dragged mercilessly into the centre of the dance floor, where Slughorn holds court. Filch has an unusually smug expression on his face, and the fingers around Draco’s bicep are white.

 _“I_ found him lurking in an upstairs corridor!” Filch announces. “He _claims_ to have been invited to your party!” Aron sighs and fights valiantly against the urge to press his fingers to his eyes. Draco shakes Filch’s hand off him at long last and stares petulantly to the floor.

“Fine, I was gate-crashing,” he snaps, rolling his wrists. Aron notices that it’s a strange habit the boy is accustomed to making when he’s being put on the spot. “Happy?”

“I will,” Snape steps forward in the ensuing, crushing silence, “show him out.”

 _“Certainly,”_ Draco sneers insolently. Aron begins to move, standing right at the door just as the pair leave. The boy refuses to even look in his direction, the beginnings of an embarrassed flush beginning to form on his cheeks. Aron won’t be surprised if Potter is trailing behind them. Wherever Draco goes, Harry does. Like a moth drawn to a flame.

 

**YULE BREAK**

 

Dongho tightens his hold on Jonghyun as they make it through the Malfoy gates. Even by touching, he can feel the coolness of the Malfoy wards—assessing, observing, deeming him worthy before it draws back and allows him to enter. Jonghyun is different. His face contorts slightly with pain, before Draco Malfoy appears and touches him and Aron, whisking the eight of them into the ballroom.

“Happy Yule,” Draco says, and opens the door.

Inside, the hall is bustling with festivities. He spots Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass in the corner laughing hysterically, fingers clutched around glass flutes of blood-red liquid. A small boy dressed in gold finery bursts through the crowd, his mother trailing exasperatedly behind him, clutching at her skirts. Dongho seizes the child, whisking him up from the floor.

“What’cha doing there, my man?” Dongho tweaks his nose and the child peers imperiously at him, swiping chocolate across his jacket.

“Michael!” his mother exclaims in outrage. _“Never_ have I been _so_ embarrassed by your crass actions—Oh.”

“Aunt,” he greets cheerfully. The woman flushes and reaches her hands out for the child. Dongho deposits the sulking boy into her waiting arms and tilts his head. “It’s been a long time.”  
“Hello, Baekho,” she says sadly. “It has.”

 

“What are you _doing?”_

Aron glances up to give his foster mother (of sorts) a nod, then focuses back on the task at hand, piping the cupcake batter into their cases. Minki’s mother snorts as she sees the ingredients laid out on the table, putting two and two together. He quirks a corner of his lips in response, and the woman reaches out a finger to taste the icing as he waves the tray of cupcakes into the oven, wiping his forehead with his palm.

“Is this about dinner?” she teases, licking her pinky clean. “The icing is good, he’ll like it.” Aron flushes slightly, saying: “It’s lavender and earl grey infused buttercream.” Her lips twitch in amusement at his obvious escape from her first question. “I do hope you will continue the line, Aron.”

He grins bashfully, and she holds her cup of water up to him in a toast.

“It’s two in the morning, go to sleep once you’re done,” she commands, and he nods sheepishly. She gives him a fond smile and ruffles his hair, leaning down to press her lips against his forehead. “Young love,” she sighs in reminiscence, then leaves him standing in her kitchen with his lavender and earl grey infused buttercream.

She pretends not to stare at Minki’s reaction to the cupcakes in the morning, instead choosing to peer into the fridge. All eleven remaining cupcakes are done beautifully, with tiny silver pearled sugars and crystallised violets. Snorting, she looks up to where Aron is watching her son eat the culmination of his hard work—Minki looks unimaginably pleased, and Aron mirrors the expression on his face. She hides a laugh when Minki kisses Aron on the cheek and demands for more sugared sweets.

 

Minki’s mother may have a limp but she’s no sitting duck. Within moments, she has Minki pinned against the wall with nothing but her fists.

“Again,” she directs, wincing as she hears her husband throw their _other_ son into the shared wall between the two rooms. She does hope Minki understands that while Aron is her son, he most certainly isn’t _Minki’s brother._

 _Although he is a brother in some ways…_ she muses. The bond the five of them share is something inherent, something _built_ and founded around mutual respect and trust. So absorbed in her thoughts is she that she blocks Minki’s attempt of tripping her before realising that it’s a ruse and receiving a sharp left hook.

“Mother!” he exclaims, as she holds a hand to her cheek. It’s sticky with blood, and she lets him mother _her,_ ironically, before tackling him and pinning him stomach down to the ground, laughing at the look of betrayal on his face.

 

Christmas is a quiet affair, and Minki chatters about his potions, then directs Jonghyun to explain how he’s managed to weave a little bit of airthmacy into his stasis spells, and how he might be able to apply this to more healing spells that he’s creating. Minhyun shakes his head. Only Jonghyun would learn about the magical properties of numbers and use them to predict the future for his _healing spells._

“And your beautiful charms, Minhyun?” the patriarch asks, setting his soup spoon down. His bowl disappears instantly, and the invisible house elf casts a cleaning spell on the utensils used.

“I was thinking,” Minhyun says slowly, “about elf magic.”

“What about elf magic?” he sounds interested, at the very least.

“Hogwarts have anti-apparition wards, but the house elves apparate in the caste just fine,” he observes. “It seems, almost, that the elf magic has trumped over the ancient wards of Hogwarts.

“But elf magic and our magic work on…” he glances at his boyfriend, “different wavelengths, so that wouldn’t be fair.”

“Indeed, Minhyun,” Aron praises. “House elves are able to apparate inside Hogwarts because they work for Hogwarts… but I cannot, because house elves tie their magic to the land Hogwarts stands proudly on.”

Beside him, Jonghyun gives a jerk and stares at Aron. They share a long glance and a slow blink, and Minhyun deciphers the exchange as a promise of a later meeting. Not without _him,_ for sure, although for now he praises the elves’ cooking out loud and grins cheekily as he hears a chorus of excited voices coming from the kitchen.

 

“You think I should tie my magic to Hogwarts?” Jonghyun paces, and Aron twirls the glass of elf wine in his hand. Minhyun gapes at the both of them in a rather unseeming manner.

“No,” he says drily, _“you_ think you should tie your magic to Hogwarts.”

“That’s true,”  Jonghyun admits easily, slumping onto his four poster bed. They’re inside the bedroom Jonghyun’s assigned to (which _technically_ means it’s his, but Jonghyun’s far too kind to accept charity from the Choi-Fawleys)  and Minhyun takes his regular seat at the vanity. He’s not sure why there’s a vanity in a man’s room, but he judges not. “I feel the magic in the walls, the power of the wards. I have to admit, being at Hogwarts makes me feel better.”

“Could be your attachment to the place,” Minhyun holds up a finger to theorise. “You were introduced to magic there, and you’ve stayed there for very long. It’s… _common_ to develop a bond.”

“I should tie my magic to Hogwarts, then,” Jonghyun decides. “It’ll make me stronger.” It’s almost as if the task ahead will be _easy._

Aron calls on a house elf named Dobby to take them to the ward stones, and Jonghyun, Minhyun and Aron sit outside the rings of power.

“This be the binding place,” Dobby insists, refusing to touch the stone. “Dobby is a free elf!”

“All I have to do is touch this,” Jonghyun says softly, feeling the sentient magic of Hogwarts brush against his magical core. It feels warm, and ticklish. He lets out an involuntary giggle. Dobby nods, ears flapping against his head. Slowly, he reaches out his palm and presses it flat against one of the stones.

Immediately, his mind is swept away from reality. The sensation of wet soil against his fingertips and the hard, warm surface of the wardstone against his palm ebbs away. For a moment he drifts calmly, then a room fashions himself in the strange version of reality it has entered. He watches as the Great Hall is painstakingly fashioned, and the double doors swing open at the end of the transfiguration.

The woman framed between both doors needs no introduction. Even from one end of the Hall, he can feel the _strength_ of her power.

“Hello, child,” the Lady greets with a motherly smile. He flinches when she crosses the room in an instant, smoothing his hair back with a very corporeal hand. “I know what you’re here for, but first, you need to fix something.”

Jonghyun closes his eyes, casting his mind over every nook and cranny of the castle. Up here, his brain is much clearer, much more _effective._ He opens his eyes in confusion when he finds nothing out of the ordinary, and then his eyes land on the staff table. Scanning the row, he identifies the Headmaster’s seat, the Deputy Headmistress’s, the Professors....

There’s a black mark on the chair the Defence professor usually takes, and he steps towards it, hand reaching out. The mark _hisses_ at him, almost like a petulant snake, spreading even more viciously like black fault lines across the ingrained wood.

“The DADA curse,” he mutters under his breath, “of course.”

He closes his eyes again and draws upon his magic core, pulling the Light from _inside_ him and funnelling it into the mark. It makes no move, instead the dark magic sours even further. He blinks, withdrawing his energy, and walks forward to seize it. To his surprise, his hands do not pass through the smoke and instead latch upon a spherical object.

It takes him all his strength, but he _pulls._ He pulls even harder when it refuses to budge, and when he pulls his entire body weight against it, the sphere relaxes its hold onto the chair, fleeing from his grasp. He sits down very suddenly on the floor, aware of his overexerted magical core, even though he hasn’t lifted his wand.

“Well done,” the Lady cheers, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. At her touch, the throbbing in his forehead clears and he manages to stand. Hogwarts seizes him by the shoulders and leans her forehead into his, murmuring a quick spell that lights his vision up gold. “There’s that. Welcome home, son.”

“What—” he mutters. “What… How…”

“You have many questions, and I would like to answer them all,” Hogwarts says cheerily. “But there is a Veela descendant next to you as well as a professor, and both of them are about to go into hysterics. You’ve been with me for nearly an hour in that world.”

“An hour?” he echoes in surprise, eyes wide. He turns back to the teachers’ table and notices something he did not see before— _another_ black mark, slick as oil, on the armchair of the Headmaster’s seat.

“Time is relative here,” she draws his attention back to her and shrugs, a fluid motion that fails to budge the phoenix that lands on her shoulder. “I’ve marked you as a descendant of Hufflepuff… the blood was there, no matter how little.” Her words are beginning to run together, and Jonghyun blinks tiredly. She offers him a manual he promises to inspect thoroughly, then sends him back into his physical body without answering any further questions.

He jerks awake, pulling his hand away from the ward stone. Immediately, Minhyun clutches at his wrist, turning him so he can meet his eyes.

“Okay?” Minhyun questions, and Jonghyun nods weakly before slumping into sleep.

 

**SIXTH YEAR, CONTINUED**

 

The state of Dumbledore’s hand fails to elude him, and Aron speaks to the Headmaster in private after one of their staff meetings.

“Sacrifice, my boy,” Dumbledore holds it up. It’s an ugly, shrivelled thing, and the only ornament that decorates it is a ring of gold, inlaid with a cracked black stone. “May you never know the pain that comes with it.”

At this moment, Severus sweeps into the room unannounced, and probably uninvited too. Aron eyes him with calm detachment—Snape has never treated him with anything more than poorly disguised contempt, and his scare tactics failed to impress anything favourable on him when he was still a young student.

Aron takes his leave quietly, but hesitates just outside the door, just in case. Snape offers him nothing but a sneer and waves his wand to shut the doors.

 

Draco makes his second mistake in the first days of March, causing pandemonium in Diagon Alley _and_ Hogwarts. Jonghyun catches him lurking outside the Hospital Wing and drags him to a secluded corner to speak with him.

“Really?” he sighs, “poisoned mead?”

Draco shrugs off his hand.

“I’ve had to get _creative,_ okay?” he hisses back, eyes blown with something like desperation and fear. “You lot aren't doing _anything.”_

“We are supporting you,” Jonghyun touches his shoulder again, “you know?”

“Much help you are,” Draco says bitterly. In the dim light of the castle’s lamps, he looks a little bit like a ghost--or a descendant of the Bloody Baron. “Much help support does.”

“Draco,” Jonghyun looks him in the eye, “your choices are yours to make. It's your life.

“Not your father's, not your mother's. Before anything, you are a Malfoy. The Malfoy family has stood for generations. You choose the way you want to lead yours.”

“It's not that easy.”

“Nothing is easy,” he replies ruefully, dropping his hand. “But then again, we are the choices we make. Draco, we've supported you, for who you are.

“But can you support _yourself_ and your family? Can you step out from your father's shadow?”

Draco hesitates. Their eyes meet, and Jonghyun sees the same look he sees in the mirror every day. Torn, conflicted, afraid--

“I don't know,” Draco murmurs.

“Neither do I,” Jonghyun smiles, stepping away. “But I try my best, Malfoy. I always try.”

 

It takes a while. But eventually, Narcissa Malfoy disappears, and Draco withdraws from school to mourn. Later, when Jonghyun stops by the Manor for the funeral, he notices that the wards no longer feel unwelcoming. Instead, they are warm and inviting. He looks up at the gallery, seeing Draco observing the proceedings with a cool gaze. Their eyes meet, and Draco gives him a firm nod.

He smiles.

 

Dongho writes half a dozen letters to his… estranged family, focusing on the women. Women of Sewlyn blood have always risen high above the men. He hopes that these women—these mothers, these wives, these sisters, these daughters—will respond to the Heir of Sewlyn.

Even if it is too late for their marriage counterparts and family members-in-law, Dongho would like to think that they have retained enough of their spine (despite being sold away) to make the most advantageous decision for themselves and their children.

He’s discussed this with his grandfather, after the death of his parents. He knows that there have been mistakes made by the House of Sewlyn. He knows that he must fix it, as the Heir.

 _Dear Lord Sewlyn,_ he writes. _As Heir, I have decided on our position in the coming war. We will no longer allow for our members to have their decisions made by others. I am calling a full family meeting in May. There, we will discuss the future of our House. Please remember, I only work for the advantage of the Sewlyn family. Love, your grandson._

He watches the owl spiral its way out of the Owlery with his eyes narrowed and lips pursed in thought.

 

In June, Minki notices a change in Harry’s behaviour. He’s withdrawn into himself even more, shifting subconsciously away from even Hermione and Ron during meals. Mealtime are not so interesting anymore, with Draco no longer here to scream taunts at Harry from across the Great Hall. He’s not sure where Draco is now, but he sure hopes he’s holding up alright.

“Minki,” Zabini says, “Harry’s being weird.”

“He is,” Minki agrees, spearing a potato with his fork and chewing on it thoughtfully. “He’s been given knowledge he can’t handle.”

“Hm,” Zabini comments, eating from his own plate and slapping Crabbe’s hand away when it sneaks towards another plate of roast meat. “Stop it, Vince. You’re going to get even fatter.”

“Don’t see how that’s any of _your_ business,” Crabbe mutters under his breath agitatedly, holding the injured hand to himself. Minki gives him an exasperated look, and the other shuts up immediately. Slytherin’s been treating him well recently, ever since he stabbed Smith’s hand with a knife the last time the idiot tried to touch him. The incident had even gone unnoticed, except for Aron’s quick gaze that sweeps over Minki’s body to make sure that he’s alright before he returns his attention back towards the conversation held at the Head’s table.

Later, Minki tells Dongho what he’s thinking, and his best friend confirms his suspicions. Harry has woken up every night gasping since the start of the week, ever since the Headmaster called him to his office to discuss _something_ that has left the Golden Boy rather obviously shaken.

 

It is nearly two weeks later when Minki slips himself under a Disillusion charm, as well as the necklace gifted to him in Borgin’s. The necklace’s strange properties are… strange. With the jewel touching his body, he can locate anyone he wishes, as well as remain entirely undetected. He knows this by experimenting, of course. He’s seen Lupin transforming under the full moon with the necklace on, and the werewolf had run _away_ once he lifted the Disillusion charm.

It’s playing with fire, but that’s how Minki is, he supposes. His forte.

 

Aron wakes up to heavy thundering on his door. Staring blearily into the darkness, he only registers Minki’s wet, shuddering form when his gaze drops to the floor. Gasping, he seizes him around the armpits and hauls him back into his room, kicking the door shut and activating the golden coin. Within moments, Jonghyun is letting himself and Minhyun in, both barely dressed. It takes another minute for Dongho to crash in, topless, through the door.

Aron checks Minki over, hissing when he sees the deep scratches against his skin. His healing magic tells him that they have been caused by the Inferi, which makes _no sense_. There are no Inferi within Hogwarts. If there were, Jonghyun would know.

Speaking of Jonghyun, the boy drops to his knees and whines softly. Minhyun catches him before he can collapse entirely to the floor.

“What?” Aron demands, drying Minki and setting the unconscious boy before the fire to warm up before incinerating his clothing and giving some of his own for him to wear. “What happened?”

“Hogwarts,” he groans. “Hogwarts is… _angry.”_

Very quickly, Aron waves a hand and the light in the room turns red, with a chilling wind sweeping through the room. The castle exhales, billowing centuries of dust into the plains outside.

“Why is Hogwarts angry, Jonghyun?” he asks, knowing the answer. Briefly, he recalls Draco’s white face, the clutch of his hands against his forearms, the way the boy child pleaded for him to save him.

“Intruders,” Jonghyun hisses, pushing himself up. “Deatheaters. Coming through the Room of Requirement.”

Years later, when Aron thinks back to this moment, this is what he will remember: Minki’s body hanging limp in his favourite armchair, his wounds knitting themselves together. Dongho’s heaving ribcage as he casts ward after ward on Aron’s room and windows, the magic thickening in the air until pure power weights down on his lungs. Minhyun throwing the door open and firing the Deatheater that runs by with a gust of boiling, terrifying fire. Jonghyun looking up at him, saying: “We have to protect the dorms. I’ll go to Slytherin.”

When he thinks back, he sees the look of identical focus, the look of people with a _purpose._ And when he looks into a suit of armour, activating it as he goes, he will remember that he has never looked stronger.

He will remember, that it is the start of a revolution.

 

**SLYTHERIN**

 

“Mother Hogwarts,” Jonghyun places a hand on the wall, “help me.” The wall gives at the slightest pressure and he ducks into the tunnel that appears, hastening his footsteps towards the Slytherin dorms. The dungeon is even more imposing at night. He bangs on the door for a good half minute before Zabini lets him in. 

“Where’s Minki?” the sixth-year Slytherins demand, holding him at wandpoint. They’ve gathered in a makeshift circle in their lace and silk underclothes.

“Safe, for now,” he gasps out, placing a hand on his heart to catch his breath. “The castle has been infiltrated. Death Eaters.”

“Death Eaters?” Bullstrode says incredulously. “There is no way the Dark Lord would touch  _ us.” _

“Not you,” Jonghyun agrees, stepping forward. “But people like Davis?” he chances a look towards the terrified girl. “People like the half-blood second year? The muggleborn first year?

“He will,” he says intently. “Minki is unconscious now, because of Voldemort. Minki is a  _ Pureblood.  _ Voldemort has  _ never  _ given a  _ shit  _ about blood purity. Because, it  _ doesn’t matter.” _

Greengrass shifts uneasily, but Nott keeps his eyes fixed on his face, enraptured for some reason.

“Defend your House,” Jonghyun pleads. “Please. If you don’t, the Death Eaters will come in and murder the children in their sleep. They have already began fighting at the Ravenclaw tower. They will reach the Hufflepuff dorms soon, and then some of them will decide, those without Slytherin children, to come here to investigate. To kill. To murder. Please. Defend your House, with me. Or I will die trying.”

There’s a heavy silence in the room. While Jonghyun was making his monologue, he’s drawn quite a crowd of interested children. 

“Pansy?” a small boy asks, reaching forward to clutch at her hand. “Mama and Papa…”

Jonghyun looks at Parkinson, watching the conflict dance behind her eyes. 

“Mama and Papa are outside, aren’t they?” the boy continues. “They’ll protect us?” The statement ends off more as a question. 

“Yes, they will, sweetheart,” Parkinson bends down to pat at his hair. “But they won’t protect our friends. House before blood, Michael. I want you to remember that.” She turns and straightens, stepping towards Jonghyun. He refuses to flinch when she clutches at his shoulder once before stepping out of the dungeons. 

As if given a silent command, the sixth years follow her, the sevens close behind. Jonghyun turns to leave too, but Zabini steps out of the shadows, calling the children to go back to their dorms. Nott presses  _ something  _ above the fireplace, and shimmering wards spring into place just outside the doors of every room.

“House secret,” Nott grunts when he sees him watching, “I’ll Obliviate you later.”

 

**RAVENCLAW**

 

“STAY INSIDE!” Minhyun gasps, blocking the entrance to the dorms as a flood of people in black surge down the corridor. Of course, Ravenclaws being Ravenclaws, they refuse to listen to him and peek out of the door in their night robes. Minhyun’s not that decent enough, clothed in a simple shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts, but he’s outside casting spells. He’s protecting his House.

“Shove over, Hwang,” Li huffs, sleeves pushed to her elbows as she wields her wand. Around it, a shimmering blue sword hovers, almost holographic in nature. Minhyun watches with wide eyes as she begins to swing her instrument, slicing away at nearly three intruders at one go. 

“You have to teach me that spell,” he calls after her, and she flashes him a quick grin before kicking a disguised man firmly in the balls.

“Defend the House, and then we’ll talk,” she shouts back, spinning further into the chaos, her sword leaving blue mists of smoke in the air as it moves. He checks behind him, and sure enough, some of the older years have ventured out to fight. Minhyun fires another burst of hot air into someone’s face, and runs back to the dorm.

“COVER ME!” he tells Terry, above the noise. His friend tightens his jaw and stands back to back, and Minhyun begins to cast the strongest ward he knows. It’s around 30 seconds in when he hears an explosion from the Slytherin side of the castle, and his heart thunder in his chest before returning to the matter at hand. 

_ Defend the castle,  _ Jonghyun had said.  _ At any cost.  _

Redoubling his efforts, Minhyun casts ten different wards, grabbing chalk from his emergency bag and drawing runes for good measure. Dropping to the floor, he narrowly misses a disarming spell and gasps when Terry drops to the ground. 

“Pass him over!” Lovegood hisses at him, and Minhyun levitates his friend through the door carefully. If he listens closely, he can hear the beginning of several healing spells. Luna takes Terry’s spot to defend him, and he finishes the last of his runes before exhaling deeply, his magic resources lying low. 

“One last shot,” Luna pulls him up by the collar of his shirt. “Come on, Minhyun. Let’s go out with a bang. I’ll pull you through the door when this is over.”

“Okay,” he says, words slurring together. Clutching at the nearest stone wall, he prays to whoever is listening and draws the last of his energy to his hands. 

“Come back!” Luna is shouting,  _ Accio- _ ing the remaining Ravenclaws back to the dorm entrance.

“Together!” Minhyun yells, voice failing. “One, two, three—

“Expelliarmus!” a dozen voices cry out together. Minhyun breathes in deeply, waiting just half of a second, and lets go. 

 

**HUFFLEPUFF**

 

“Professor?” Abbott questions as he storms into the dorms. “Why did you call all of us down?”

Aron takes a good, hard look at the people gathered around him. Some, he has seen grow from tiny children to developing teenagers. He’s seen them fight, he’s seen them fall in love, and he’s seen them  _ grow _ to be the people they are today. His throat tightens at the thought of any of them getting hurt, but he soldiers on with his task. 

“There are Death Eaters in this castle,” he tells the gathered group of sixth and seventh years. “They have infiltrated Hogwarts, for some reason, and they are moving towards the student dorms very,  _ very  _ quickly. Hufflepuff needs defending. Will you help?”

The answer is, of course, very simple. 

Aron wards the dorms as best as he can, then leads his troop of a dozen cold Hufflepuffs into battle, disarming waves of Death Eaters that pour down the stairs. At the corner of his eye, he sees Susan and Hannah working together and bringing down their masked intruders. The sixth year boys are huddled near the doors, shooting off jinxes and hexes at those who come close. Aron smiles slightly, and then he wades into the centre of battle and begins to pick the strongest off.

He comes face to face with Evan Rosier, which makes him stumble back slightly. The man beams at him, exposing all his teeth, and Aron steadies himself, throwing the first offensive spell and ducking as Rosier lunges at him. Aron ducks under something and throws another hex, but Rosier does not falter, continuing to track him as he dances around the room. He prays that the kids are holding off well enough, and then he stops where he started, right in the centre. Huffing, he stuffs his wand behind his ear and raises his hands, levitating the pentagram he’s drawn through the room through pure magic.

_ Hogwarts, help me,  _ he thinks. The fighting slows as everyone turns to stare at the white, shimmering barrier lifts up into the air, separating the Hufflepuffs from their enemies. With a huff of pure energy, Aron pushes the magic from his body. 

_ Sleep— _ he’s thinking— _ sleepsleepsleepsleepsleepsle— _

Rosier falls to the ground in an automatic faint, and so do the Death Eaters. With a final push, Aron seals the rune triangle, watching it implode upon itself until the air is clear again. 

“Now,” he tells the stunned students, retrieving his wand to transfigure one of his buttons into a Bottomless trunk. “Levitate all of those… assholes into here. We’ll take them as prisoners.”

With a loud cry, the Hufflepuff students begin their work.

 

**GRYFFINDOR**

 

Dongho is greeted at wandpoint when he steps through the door.

“How the  _ hell  _ did you leave the dorms and  _ where  _ is Harry?” Hermione asks, voice low and dangerous. He sighs and steps out of range, still buttoning his shirt. She blushes a bit and looks away, but Ron’s enraged voice cuts in, demanding Harry’s whereabouts.

“Look,” he groans, “that’s not the most important part—”

“What the  _ bloody hell do you mean—” _

“—there are Death Eaters in the castle and they are headed this way. And if you want to argue about  _ Harry  _ when the lives of everyone in this dorm are in danger, then be my guest,” he snaps, setting off a firework in the Common Room and watching as the students trickle down the stairs at the noise. “Meanwhile,  _ I’m  _ going to find people that are willing to help.”

He stares Ron down until the taller gives, brandishing his wand. 

“Death Eaters outside!” he exclaims, then rushes out of the door. Dongho watches him go, annoyed, then starts to push back the younger years that try to emulate his example. Hermione helps to boss everyone else back into their dorms, locking the doors with some obscure spell Dongho recognises from an old warding book. The remaining seven years trickle out of the dorm, wands ready.

“Let’s go, Granger,” Dongho says, and the both of them make their way towards the door. Outside, the fighting has already begun, with the seventh years fanned out and the sixth years focusing on defending the Fat Lady’s portrait. “We got this.”

 

**LATER**

 

None of them cry at Dumbledore’s funeral.

Harry Potter will tell them about how, just as Professor Snape casts an  _ Avada Kedavra _ at the Headmaster, someone slight and dressed in a purple cloak disarms the Professor. He will tell them that Snape seizes the wand a  _ second  _ after it slips by his fingers, and that the person laughs before disappearing back into the shadows with a swish of his cloak. There are many holes in his narration, but there is one thing he tells them. He will tell them that the mystery person wore a necklace that hung at his throat, the sparkling obsidian stone there rumbling with power.

When Minki hears this, he pales slightly. Aron casts a look at him and determines the reason why. He had missed most of the battle after all, collapsed in his armchair in his office. The only time they saw Minki was when he had sprinted down to the Great Hall to check on them. 

They survived, with minimal scrapes, from the fight. Minhyun’s magical reserves, although his creature inheritance helps him to regain it rather quickly. The professors secure the castle and arrange for the students to return home after the funeral. 

The five of them stand at the entrance of Hogwarts, looking at the battle moat and reflecting on the past week of chaos and mayhem. 

_ Perhaps, _ Jonghyun thinks,  _ it’s time to put the next part of the plan into effect.  _ He voices this, and Minhyun makes agreeing noises, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. Minki nods quietly. Dongho hums and draws all of them in for a team hug.

For a moment, they let themselves just…  _ be.  _ With each other. 

_ Because,  _ Aron thinks ruefully,  _ they can never be sure if they are fully prepared for what’s coming next.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god it's been like ,,, a year since i posted BUT! i managed to reach my goal of hitting 10k+posting this before christmas so YAY! hope yall enjoy this part cos i've been,,, writing this for a whole year but yes! thank you so so so so much for reading & if you're one of my old readers THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAITING & COMING BACK it really means a lot to me! if yall are free please comment bc it makes me super super happy and a comment would really make my christmas a lil bit brighter :) merry christmas yall MUCH LOVE !!

**Author's Note:**

> the prompt was really vague so i was kind of worried but i hope it's ok!!
> 
> comment below ♡ i think this will be a dead giveaway LOL but if you want a sequel hit that kudos button or leave a comment bc i love those


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